Baby Of Mine
by mulderbabe77
Summary: Finally here's Chapter 15. Not many chapter's left. Robert and Elizabeth bring the baby home. Robert has a little incident with phantom pain.
1. Default Chapter

Elizabeth Corday and Dr. Dorsett have a little fun, which lands Elizabeth pregnant, and alone after she finds out he is married. What will happen now? Will be a Cordano, this chapter is just setting the whole story up.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own ER, though I wish I did, because I would make sure a certain incident set to take place later this season would NOT happen. L You guys know what I'm talking about. I am writing this story purely for my own amusement, please don't sue me!  
  
Feedback is greatly appreciated! And now, on to the story……….  
  
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Elizabeth Corday made her way down the hallway of the surgical floor of Cook County General. She carried a small paper bag in her hand, which was covered by her coat that was draped over her arm. She quickly glanced around the hallway and slipped into the ladies room, hoping to go unnoticed.   
  
Pulling a box out of the bag, she let out a loud sigh and went into one of the small stalls, slamming the door shut.  
  
She pulled the pregnancy test out of the box and began to read the instructions.  
  
Fifteen minutes later Elizabeth sat on the counter next to the sink in the ladies bathroom clutching the pregnancy test in one hand and a tissue in the other, which she dabbed at her eyes with. As she had suspected for a few days now, she was in fact pregnant, with that lying asshole's child. She and Dorsett had only had sex twice, but apparently it had been at the right time, and they hadn't used protection.   
  
And if that wasn't bad enough she had just found out last week that he was married. Married for God's sake. The first person she had been with since Mark and he had lied to her and used her, and now she was going to have his child. Just thinking about it made her cry harder.  
  
Suddenly there was a knock at the door and Shirley came in and shut the door. "Are you okay Dr. Corday? I saw you come in here fifteen minutes ago. I thought maybe you were sick."  
  
"No I'm not sick," Elizabeth said, sniffling and wiping her eyes again.  
  
Shirley approached her slowly, her eyes immediately traveling to the object in Elizabeth's hand.  
  
"Is that what I think it is?" Shirley asked cautiously.  
  
Elizabeth nodded. "You'll never guess who the father is," she said, laughing a little.  
  
"Dr. Dorsett?" she asked. At Elizabeth's surprised look she said, " You know hospital gossip. I heard you two had a little thing a few weeks ago."  
  
Elizabeth picked up the test and hurled it into the trash. "I have to get back to work," Elizabeth said and then flung the door open and disappeared down the crowded hall. 


	2. Morning Sickness

Ok, here comes chapter 2, which there is some Cordano in. I hope you all like it. I hope I'm doing okay at keeping both Robert and Elizabeth in character, let me know!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own ER, blah, blah, blah….  
  
Feedback is greatly appreciated!  
  
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As Elizabeth stormed furiously down the hall, her pager went off. She was needed in the ER right away for multiple GSW's. She punched the button for the elevator and made her way down to the chaotic ER.   
  
There were three victims being wheeled in as Elizabeth stepped off the elevator, and two had already been brought in just seconds earlier.   
  
"Elizabeth," Susan called out. "They need you in trauma one!"  
  
She nodded and quickened her pace to get to trauma one. The patient was just being transferred onto the bed when she came in, and Dr. Romano and Haleh were already working diligently on taking his blood pressure and listening to his chest. Elizabeth grabbed some gloves and jumped in asking for the patients BP.  
  
As Elizabeth made her way over to the bed to begin to assess the patient, she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Damn morning sickness, she thought to herself, cursing under her breath. She swallowed hard and tried to ignore the churning feeling in her stomach. She took a deep breath in through her nose, hoping to calm her stomach a little, and then suddenly reached out to grip the rail of the bed with her hands as a wave of dizziness overcame her. She put her head down a little, taking a few deep breaths to try to overcome the nausea and dizziness.  
  
"You okay?" asked Robert, seeing that her eyes were closed. She looked as if she was in pain.  
  
"No," she said, and then paused. "I'm going to be sick," she blurted out and quickly dashed out of the room, heading towards the bathroom. As she pulled the bathroom door open she could hear Romano yelling from the trauma room.  
  
"We need to intubate this guy now. Someone get Dr. Kovac in here and call for another surgeon!"  
  
Elizabeth barely had time to get into the nearest stall and lock the door before she got sick. She lost everything she had eaten for breakfast, which consisted of a bagel with cream cheese, orange juice, and the two Tylenol she had taken for her headache.  
  
Kneeling down on the cold tile floor, she threw up for about three minutes straight before she had a chance to catch her breath. By now there was nothing left in her stomach, so she ended up dry heaving for another ten minutes when she heard the bathroom door open.  
  
"Elizabeth, are you in here?" It was Robert. She didn't answer. Her knees were beginning to hurt from kneeling down on the hard tile, so she sat down on the floor, leaning back against the side of the stall and pulling her knees up to her chest.  
  
Robert looked under the stalls searching for any sign that Elizabeth was still in here. She could have went back up to surgery, he thought. But then he spotted someone sitting on the floor in the first stall. He knocked on the door lightly.   
  
"Lizzie, are you okay?"  
  
"Go away Robert, " she finally said to him.  
  
"I want to make sure you're all right first," he said adamantly.   
  
She reached up to unlock the door and pushed it open, but made no move to get up. She was crying. There was no sound, but Robert could clearly see the tears streaming freely down her cheeks.  
  
Suddenly a look of dread crossed her face, and she quickly got to her knees in front of the toilet and began to throw up again.  
  
"Just leave me alone, Robert. You don't need to watch this," Elizabeth told him in between her heaving.   
  
Instead of listening to her, he stepped into the stall and got on his knees behind her, reaching out to hold onto her hair and keep it from falling into her face. Gently, he placed his hand on her back, rubbing small, comforting circles.  
  
After she was sure she was done, she fell weakly back against Robert, almost forgetting he was there.  
  
"Sorry," she said, taking a deep breath and shifting to lean against the wall. Robert got up and grabbed a paper towel, handing it to her as he crouched down in front of her.   
  
"You done?" he questioned, gesturing towards the toilet.  
  
She nodded and he reached to flush it. She wiped her mouth with the paper towel Robert had given her and then dabbed at her eyes, which were red and puffy from crying.  
  
Robert sat down on the floor facing her. "Now what's going on, are you sick?" he asked, concerned. He reached out to feel her forehead, which seemed to feel normal to him.  
  
"You don't have a fever," he told her.  
  
"I'm not sick," she told him, resting her forehead against her knees. She was speaking quietly, and he had to strain to hear what she was saying.  
  
"I'm pregnant," she said, barely above a whisper. 


	3. Dorset sucks!

Okay chapter 3 is here. I'm not sure how much I like this chapter. I might end up rewriting it. Is it too cheesy? Too sappy? To out of character for them? Please tell me what you think. This chapter was much harder than the others to write, and I'm not sure it flows very well, let me know, and maybe I will change it.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own ER, etc. NBC does. You know the drill.  
  
Feedback is greatly appreciated!  
  
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"You're what?" Robert asked Elizabeth incredulously.   
  
"You heard me, I said I'm pregnant," she said, as her eyes began to water again.  
  
"Well I don't think I have to wonder who the father is. It must be that new guy Dorsett, right? I saw you two going out for coffee that night the other week. What did he say when you told him?"  
  
Elizabeth chuckled a little. "I haven't exactly told him yet," she replied. "I'm not sure I want to," she said struggling to hold in her tears.   
  
"Why not?" he asked. "Are you afraid he won't want a child?"  
  
"We're not even together anymore, I broke up with him last week. And do you want to know why?" she said, sounding absolutely infuriated.  
  
"Why?" Robert asked, feeling somewhat clueless.  
  
"He's married. He's got a wife that he just conveniently forgot to mention."  
  
"Are you serious?" he asked. "Married? Son of a bitch. That guy has some nerve. But Elizabeth you still have to tell him," he said pushing his anger aside for a moment. "As much as I hate to say it, he may want to be involved in the child's life, which legally he has a right to do."  
  
She nodded, knowing that he was right. She had to tell Eddie that she was going to have his child, no matter how much she didn't want to.  
  
Robert stood up and took Elizabeth's hand to help her up as well. She tugged at her jacket and smoothed out the front of her clothes, which were quite rumpled. Robert walked to the door, and opened it, letting Elizabeth go through ahead of him. As luck would have it, just as Elizabeth and Robert emerged from the bathroom, they walked right into the middle of an argument between Dr. Carter and Dr. Weaver, who gave them a strange look and moved their conversation into the drug lock-up area.  
  
Robert turned to go to the admit desk as Elizabeth continued on to the elevator, but before she got on she turned and called out Robert's name.  
  
"Yeah," he replied.  
  
"Thank you," she said, and then stepped onto the elevator quickly before the doors shut.  
  
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Elizabeth approached the desk on the surgical floor confidently.   
  
"Shirley, can you tell me where Dr. Dorsett is? I need to speak with him."  
  
"He's in the scrub room getting ready to perform a hemicolectomy in about fifteen minutes."   
  
"Thank you," said Elizabeth, as she approached the scrub room, took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.  
  
"Elizabeth, will you be joining me on this?" Dr. Dorset said, winking at her as she entered the room.  
  
"Eddie, we need to talk," she said seriously.  
  
The cocky smirk that was usually plastered to his face faded. "What is it?" he asked. "I hope you're not still mad about that whole wife thing."  
  
"That wife thing!" she yelled in disbelief. I don't know what I ever saw in you," she said angrily.   
  
"Well let's see, there's my good looks, my-"  
  
Elizabeth interrupted him before he could go any further. "I have something to tell you."  
  
"What could be more important that listening to me talk about how attractive and charming I am?" he asked arrogantly.   
  
"I'm pregnant," she blurted out. "It's your child."  
  
He was silent for a few seconds, which seemed like an eternity to Elizabeth. Then a grin spread across his face, and he laughed out loud.  
  
"What is this some joke to try to get back at me? Nice try, but I'm not falling for it."  
  
"This is no joke. I'm really pregnant."  
  
"Oh God," he said. "My wife can't find out about this. She'll kill me." He paused, trying to collect his scattered thoughts. "I'm sorry Elizabeth, I don't know what you were expecting from me, but this is too much. I wasn't looking for a relationship or anything. I can't, I've got a wife for God's sake. I can't have anything to do with this child."  
  
"That's what I figured you'd say," she mumbled as pushed past him and walked out the door, letting it slam shut. Eddie made no move to go after her.   
  
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Elizabeth looked out over the large city of Chicago from the roof of the hospital. The sky was beginning to turn dark as the sun had gone most of the way down, but the city was hardly dying down with the night.   
  
Elizabeth sipped her bottled water as she watched the sights. She was tired, and desperately wanted a cup of coffee, but she had decided to cut back for the baby's sake. Her pager had gone off twice in the last half hour, but she chose to ignore it.   
  
The sound of the elevator doors opening snapped her out of her reverie, but she didn't bother to turn around to see who it was. She really just wanted to be left alone right now. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Robert come to stand on her right side, holding a cup of coffee in his hand.  
  
"I paged you," he said in a soft voice.  
  
"I know, I just needed to come up here for a few minutes and think. I'm sorry," she said.  
  
"It's ok. Did you tell him?" he asked. He looked at her, waiting for an answer.  
  
She nodded. "He doesn't want anything to do with it. He's afraid it will destroy his marriage. He doesn't even care," she said as her tears started to flow. She set down her bottle of water and tried to wipe away her tears, but Robert stepped closer to her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. She turned to him, and he took her in his arms as she sobbed on his shoulder. "What am I going to do?" she asked. She wiped her eyes and took a step backwards. "It's hard enough raising Ella by myself." She turned away from him and sat down on the brick ledge.  
  
"Well," Robert said, "you won't be alone." He sat down next to her and tilted her chin up to look at him. "You've got me. That is, if you'll put up with me. I know I can be a pain in the ass, but I couldn't stand to see you go through this alone," he said the last part sincerely.  
  
"Robert Romano, I think that's the kindest thing I've ever heard you say," Elizabeth said, as she rested her head against his shoulder. 


	4. Confrontation and the Common Cold

Chapter 4 is here! Robert confronts Dorsett, and later takes care of Elizabeth and Ella who are both sick with a cold.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own ER, I think you all know that.   
  
Feedback is greatly appreciated!  
  
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Robert and Elizabeth sat on the roof for a few more minutes before Elizabeth had to get back to her office. She had a few more hours left on her shift, and there was a stack of paperwork six inches high on her desk.   
  
Meanwhile, Robert had to get back to the ER. And after that, he had to pay someone a visit.   
  
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Robert's shift had ended fifteen minutes ago, and he made his way down the surgical floor, dressed in casual clothes; jeans and a form fitting black t-shirt. He stopped in front of the door of a dimly lit, dilapidated office, belonging to none other than Dr. Edward Dorsett.   
  
Eddie was on the left hand side of the room, facing away from the door. Standing next to the filing cabinet, his fingers moved quickly through the papers he was looking at.  
  
Robert set his briefcase down outside the door, and entered the room silently. He walked up to Eddie and shoved him forcefully into the wall.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Eddie yelled.  
  
"You son of a bitch," Robert said in a low voice. "You must think you're so smooth."  
  
"What are you talking about?" Eddie asked, not knowing what was going on."She was lonely and vulnerable, and you seduced her. I watched you do it. You flirted with her, and then you used her. How could you not tell her that you were married. You have some nerve. She just lost her husband, you bastard!" he yelled.  
  
By now Roberts hands were trembling with uncontrolled rage. "And now she's pregnant, and you tell her you want nothing to do with this child. If I was still Chief of Staff, I'd have your ass fired so fast…" he trailed off, as an evil grin spread across Eddie's face.   
  
"But you aren't Chief of Staff anymore, are you? So there isn't a damn thing you can do about it."  
  
"Oh yes there is, " said Robert, and with that he punched Eddie square in the face. Eddie fell to the ground and blood poured from his nose as he brought his hand to his face. He tried, but failed to get up.   
  
"You made a big mistake when you hurt Elizabeth Corday. You stay the hell away from her. I swear, if you ever do anything to hurt her ever again you'll pay."  
  
Eddie was still laying on the ground, and before Robert left he made sure to kick him on his way out the door.  
  
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A knock on Elizabeth's office door startled her, as she looked up from the paperwork she had been working on. Robert leaned against the door frame.  
  
"Still working? I thought for sure you would've gone home by now," he said smiling at her. Elizabeth smiled back at him, thinking how rare it was to see that smile on his face anymore. She enjoyed the few times he let his guard down.  
  
"You seem in a good mood tonight," she told him, laughing.  
  
"Well I just took care of some unfinished business," he said, hoping she wouldn't ask the details. He didn't really want to tell her that he had punched Eddie.  
  
"Oh yeah, what?" she asked.  
  
"Nothing worth talking about, " he replied. "Are you leaving soon?"  
  
"In a few minutes, yes," she said.  
  
"Can I give you a ride?" he asked.  
  
"I was just going to take the El."  
  
"Come on, let me give you a ride. I promise my car is cleaner and safer than the El."  
  
"Well, if you insist," she said smiling. "Just let me get my stuff," she said, standing up and grabbing her coat off the rack and her bag from off the desk. Pulling her keys out of her bag, they walked into the hall, as she shut and locked her office door.   
  
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"We need to get surgery down here," Robert said to one of the nurses in the trauma room the next morning. "Dr. Corday is on call, I think," he said, remembering last night that Elizabeth had said she was covering the ER today. A few minutes later Dr. Edson came through the door, "What's the story?" he asked.  
  
"Where's Dr. Corday?" Robert asked. "I thought she was covering the ER today."  
  
"I don't know where she is, all the schedules got switched around for today, so here I am," he said.  
  
Edson started his assessment of the patient. Five minutes later the patient was wheeled off to surgery, and Robert decided to take a break and go upstairs to look for Elizabeth.  
  
First he went to her office, which was dark, and the door was still locked. He made his way down the hall looking for a nurse that he knew. Finally he found Shirley coming out of the scrub room.  
  
"Shirley, where's Elizabeth?" he asked quickly, starting to get impatient.  
  
"She called in sick today," Shirley told him.  
  
"Sick?" he questioned.   
  
"Yeah, she sounded like she had a pretty bad cold. And Ella's sick too, so it sounds like she's got her hands full today."  
  
"Thanks," Robert said, distracted. He took off quickly down the hall and back to the ER.  
  
"Susan," he said, approaching the admit desk. "I have to go take care of something, cover the rest of my shift, will you?" he said, not really asking.  
  
"Yeah, sure, because I don't have anything else to do," Susan said sighing.  
  
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Robert pulled into Elizabeth's driveway a little after 10:30 that the morning. He got out of the car, carrying with him some essentials that he had picked up at the store on the way there. He had gotten Children's Tylenol for Ella, some Nyquil for Elizabeth, a box of tissues, a carton of orange juice, and cough drops. He was definitely prepared.   
  
He knocked on the door. Trying to balance the bag of groceries in his good arm and knock at the same time turned out to be harder than he thought, but he managed ok.  
  
After a minute or two, Elizabeth yanked the door open, and a look of surprise spread across her face as she saw Robert standing on her front step.  
  
"Robert, what are you doing here?" she said, and then turned her head and coughed. She held a tissue in her hand.  
  
"I heard you and the munchkin were sick, so I came to check on you. I took the day off," he said.  
  
She held the door open for him to come in. Robert stepped inside and followed Elizabeth into the kitchen, setting down the bag of stuff on the counter.  
  
"What did you bring?" she asked, sitting down on a stool on the opposite side of the counter.  
  
"Medicine, for you and Ella, orange juice, tissues, cough drops, " he said as he unloaded the bag.  
  
"Oh, that's wonderful," she said, picking up the Children's Tylenol. "Ella's almost out, and I didn't feel up to going to the store," she said, sniffling. Robert put the orange juice in the refrigerator, and then approached Elizabeth, putting a hand to her forehead.  
  
"You have a fever, you should be in bed," he said.  
  
"I know," she said. "I was up with Ella, she's just fallen back asleep."  
  
"Where do you keep your glasses?" he asked, as he opened a few cupboards.   
  
"Next one," she said. He pulled one out and filled it with water, handing Elizabeth two Nyquil and the glass of water. She gratefully accepted the medicine. She hadn't even taken anything yet, because she had been busy trying to care for Ella.  
  
Elizabeth climbed off the stool and put her glass in the sink. Robert followed her out to the living room as Elizabeth curled up on the couch. He sat on a chair opposite from the couch, watching her. She shivered, and Robert got up from the chair.  
  
"Let me get you a blanket. Where do you keep them?" he asked.  
  
"The closet across from Ella's room upstairs," she said. He made his way up the stairs and grabbed a thick quilt from the closet.   
  
When he came back downstairs, Elizabeth had fallen asleep. He spread the blanket over her and sat back down in the chair, picking up a magazine from the coffee table to read.  
  
Ten minutes later, he heard Ella crying upstairs. Elizabeth sat up drowsily, hearing the cry too. She started to get up, but Robert stopped her. "I'll go check on her," he said. "You get some rest."  
  
She looked at him warily. "I'll come get you if I need help, ok?" he said, trying to put her mind at ease. She nodded, and curled back up under the blanket as Robert made his way upstairs.  
  
Ella was sitting up in her bed crying. Her nose was running, and she was sweating from the fever, her clothes were soaked. Robert and sat down next to her in the bed. "Hi Ella," he said sweetly. Luckily Robert and Ella had met before, and she was fairly comfortable with him. She held out her arms to him, signaling that she wanted to be picked up. He gathered the little girl in his arms, and went over to her dresser, where he found some new clothes to put on her. Some sweats and a t-shirt. He sat her down on the bed and took her wet clothes off, putting the clean, dry ones on. "Now, how bout we go take some medicine to make you feel better and wipe your nose, ok?" he asked her. She nodded as he picked her up, and she snuggled into his chest.  
  
He carried her downstairs and into the kitchen, setting her in her highchair. Opening the box of tissues he brought, he wiped her nose, and she smiled at him. Next he got her a dose of the Tylenol and a drink of orange juice. She made a face as she drank the little cup of medicine, and quickly reached for her sippy cup of juice.  
  
Robert noticed the ear thermometer lying on the counter, and decided to check Ella's temperature, which was hovering just a little over 100. Not too high, he thought.  
  
Just as he was trying to figure out what to do with Ella next, Elizabeth shuffled into the kitchen, and went over to Ella, feeling her forehead. "It's 100.2," he told her. "I just gave her some Tylenol. How are you feeling?" he asked.  
  
As if on cue, Elizabeth turned her head and sneezed into the tissue in her hand twice, and then started to cough.  
  
"Well I guess that answers my question, " he said. "Let me take your temperature," he said. So she allowed him. He stuck the thermometer in her ear, and waited for the beep. The numbers glowed red when he took it out. "101.4. Well the medicine hasn't had a chance to kick in yet, give it a little while. How about Ella and I go watch some TV in the living room, and you go up to bed for a little while. That Nyquil is going to make you very sleepy when it starts working."  
  
"Okay," she said. Robert picked up Ella and brought her into the living room, sitting her down on the couch.  
  
Elizabeth went upstairs and collapsed onto her bed, crawling underneath her comforter and falling fast asleep.  
  
Robert and Ella started watching Blues Clues downstairs, and about an hour later Ella had finally fallen asleep with her head in Robert's lap. He stroked her hair gently and felt her forehead, relieved that her fever had gone down a lot.  
  
Gently, he lifted Ella's head off his lap so that he could get up and check on Elizabeth. He climbed the stairs quietly, hoping not to wake her if she was asleep.  
  
The door to her room was open, so he cautiously entered, seeing Elizabeth lying on her bed wrapped in her comforter. He approached the side of her bed and carefully sat down on the edge next to her. Brushing a few stray damp curls out of her face, he put a palm to her forehead, which was still too warm. She was sicker than Ella was, and probably exhausted from working so much.  
  
Elizabeth stirred and shifted in the bed opening her eyes sleepily. "How's Ella?" she asked right away.  
  
"Her fevers gone down, she's asleep on the couch," he said. "How are you?" he asked gently.  
  
"My head hurts, " she replied. "And my throat."  
  
"Do you wants some tea, or some soup?" he asked.  
  
"I am kind of hungry, I am eating for two after all."  
  
"Right, which means we have to get you feeling better soon and keep you healthy. Do you want me to bring the soup up here?"  
  
"No, I think I can handle going downstairs," she told him. "I want to check on Ella anyway."  
  
She pushed the covers off her body, revealing her pink plaid pajamas, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She swayed a little as she stood up and Robert grabbed her arm to steady her. "Are you sure you're up for this?" he asked.  
  
"I'm fine," she said, trying to sound convincing, even though her legs felt so weak she thought they might give out at any second. As they passed the end of the bed, Elizabeth grabbed the afghan that lay there and pulled it around her shoulders, and then they made their way slowly down the stairs.  
  
On the way through the living room Elizabeth stopped quickly to check on Ella, and gave her a kiss on the forehead as she went to join Robert in the kitchen.  
  
Robert was already busying himself in kitchen making the soup as Elizabeth crossed the room and took a seat at the counter. She grabbed a tissue from the box on the counter and blew her nose, lowering her head down to the counter when she was done.  
  
Robert set a cup of tea down in front of her, and she lifted her head briefly to take a small sip. Slowly she lowered her head back down and closed her eyes. She jumped when she felt something go inside her ear, but then realized that it was just Robert taking her temperature again.  
  
"101.6," he stated. "It hasn't gone down at all. In fact, it's gone up," he said sighing. He went and got her two more Nyquil, and then got two Advil for her to take also. Setting a bowl of soup down in front of her, she are a few spoonful's before she pushed it away.  
  
"You didn't eat much," he said, concerned.   
  
"I know," she said. "I feel nauseous," she told him. "It's probably just morning sickness."  
  
"Do you want me to go out and get some Compazine?"  
  
"No, I'll be ok," she said, getting up from the stool. "I want to go sit with Ella."  
  
Robert followed her into the living room, and watched as she lay down next to Ella, the little girl snuggling up to her mother. She pulled the blanket around them and started to doze off.  
  
Robert went to the kitchen to start cleaning up the dishes that he had used, and when he came back out, both Elizabeth and Ella lay sound asleep on the couch. Robert sat down in the chair and got comfortable as he watched the two of them sleep, thankful that they were both able to rest, and hoping that they would be feeling better by tomorrow. 


	5. French Fries and Milk Shakes

Thank you all so much for reviewing my story!! It keeps me wanting to write more. . Robert and Elizabeth go to lunch together and have a good time. That's basically it.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own ER!  
  
Feedback is greatly appreciated!  
  
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Two days later, Elizabeth was back at work. Her sinuses were still a little stuffed up and she had a dull headache, but overall she was feeling much better. And since Robert had taken care of Ella the past two days, she had gotten more sleep than she could've ever imagined.  
  
It was already nearing mid afternoon and Elizabeth still hadn't run into Robert at all, though she had only been down to the ER for two quick consults earlier that morning. The rest of the morning she had been doing a few elective procedures, and then catching up on some old charts.  
  
Meanwhile, it was a little after two, and Elizabeth was absolutely starving. She had a huge craving for French fries and a chocolate milk shake. Great, here come the cravings, she thought to herself.  
  
Getting onto the elevator, she went down to the ER, preparing to go across the street to Doc Magoos and satisfy her intense craving for those fries.  
  
Quickly stepping off the elevator, she almost ran straight into Robert, since neither of them had been paying attention to where they were going.  
  
"Lizzie," Robert said brightly. "Down for a consult?"  
  
"No, actually I was going to go to Doc Magoos. I have a craving for French fries and a chocolate milk shake. Want to come?"  
  
"Well, I guess I could use a break from this lowlife scene. Just let me get my coat and hand off this chart to someone else. Pratt could use another patient."  
  
Elizabeth followed him into the lounge as he slipped off his lab coat and pulled on his winter coat.   
  
Robert held the lounge door open for Elizabeth as she went through ahead of him, and then they made their way through the ambulance bay doors, his hand gently resting on the small of her back.  
  
"What's going on with them?" Chen asked after the doors had slid closed behind them.  
  
"Well you know how Dr. Romano left early the other day, and didn't show up yesterday? Well Shirley from upstairs told me that Elizabeth called in sick both of those days," Malik said to the small crowd of doctors and nurses. "To tell you the truth, I always thought there was a little something goin' on between the two of them. I mean everyone knows he's had a crush on her for years now."   
  
"No way, Malik," John Carter chimed in. "Elizabeth is way too smart to fall for a jerk like Romano."  
  
"Yeah, well we'll see. I know everything that goes on around this place," Malik said, heading down the hallway.  
  
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Robert and Elizabeth took a seat in a booth in the far corner of the restaurant. Seconds later, a short, plump waitress came to take their order, and Elizabeth quickly ordered a large side of fries and a chocolate shake. Robert just ordered a coffee.  
  
"You aren't going to eat anything?" Elizabeth asked him.  
  
"Nah, I'm not really hungry," he replied.  
  
As they waited for Elizabeth's fries to arrive, the two carried on a quite pleasant conversation. Elizabeth drank her milkshake while Robert sipped at his coffee. He inquired how the pregnancy was going so far, and whether she was still having morning sickness, and how bad it really was.  
  
Elizabeth answered his questions honestly, telling him that so far it was the same as her pregnancy with Ella, so she had some morning sickness, but it was somewhat manageable.   
  
"But I don't eat much until afternoon. If I eat a big meal in the morning, I'll get sick. So it's mostly been toast and water for breakfast. Which means I'm starving by the afternoon."  
  
Finally her French fries arrived, and just in time, because she was absolutely starving. She reached for the salt and doused her fries.  
  
Robert made a disgusted face when he saw how much salt she was putting on them. "Would you like some fries with your salt?" he asked.  
  
"What? I like salt," she said, laughing, and then beginning to eat her fries. After finishing the entire plate, she slid down a little in the booth, as a contented sigh escaped from her mouth.  
  
"Full?" he asked.  
  
She nodded and smiled at him. "Thanks for coming with me. I didn't really feel like eating alone."  
  
"Hey, I'm all for anything that gets me out of that hell hole, even if it's only for a few minutes."  
  
The check arrived and Elizabeth began to reach in her pocket to fish out her money, but Robert got to his wallet first and pulled out a twenty.  
  
"I got it," he said.  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry about it."  
  
After paying the check, they left the restaurant and walked outside. It was a cool afternoon, and Elizabeth shivered despite the coat she wore.  
  
"Cold?"   
  
"A little," she replied. Robert took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders as they began the short walk back to the hospital.  
  
"Robert, now you'll be cold," she said, concerned.  
  
"I'm fine," he said. "I have thick skin. So, what time are you off?"  
  
"Seven," she told him. "You?"  
  
"I'm on until eleven," he told her, sighing. "It's going to be a long night." By now they were getting close to the ambulance bay doors, but neither of them was ready to go back in yet. Elizabeth put her hands in her pockets, since they were getting pretty cold.  
  
"Well I guess I should get back upstairs, I have a ton of work to do. We should do this again. I had a good time," she said sincerely, and smiled. Who would've ever thought that she would have a good time with Robert Romano, the man that used to make her life a living hell. They walked into the hospital together, and Elizabeth returned Robert's coat, thanking him for letting her use it. As she continued towards the elevators, she was oblivious to all the curious looks she was receiving from the doctors and nurses. 


	6. Help, I Need Somebody

Ok, the story is jumping ahead a little here. I'm getting a little bored with nothing happening, so here comes something. I just thought the story was moving kind of slow. Thank you for all your reviews!! Sorry it's been a while. I've had a bunch of school stuff.  
  
Also, this story will continue as if the events of Thursday night NEVER happened. And if this chapter is a little medically incorrect then I apologize. I've never been pregnant, and don't know very much about it, besides the basics, so sorry in advance for any gross errors. Though I did look up the ultrasound stuff, so that is correct.   
  
Feedback is greatly appreciated!  
  
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Eight weeks later…  
  
Elizabeth rolled over in her bed and yawned. It was Monday morning and all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. She was not looking forward to another long shift today at County.  
  
As she sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes, her bedroom door swung open and Robert came in holding two mugs of tea.  
  
Over the past few weeks, Elizabeth and Robert had grown incredibly close. They had been spending a great deal of time together, and Robert sometimes spent the night.  
  
He was being true to his promise that Elizabeth would not be alone during this pregnancy, and she was surprised to find herself enjoying his company. He was different when they were alone together. At work he still kept up his sarcastic, witty, and usually rude behavior, but during those moments when they were alone together, she had gotten to see the real Robert Romano. Sarcastic, yet funny, caring and even sometimes sensitive, though she knew he would never admit to that.  
  
Of course they still had their moments when they would disagree and snark like they used to, but their relationship had grown far beyond just that. Robert felt an overwhelming need to take care of her.  
  
"You're up early," Elizabeth said sleepily.  
  
"Not by choice. Ella was up early, and you are impossible to wake up," he said, smiling at her. He crossed the room and handed her the mug of tea.  
  
"Is she watching TV?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
"Yup, and now I'm going to go take a shower," he replied, setting his mug down on the nightstand.  
  
"Ok, I'll go make breakfast," she said. She climbed out of bed and quickly kissed him on the cheek before making her way down the stairs.  
  
After they were both showered, and fed, and the babysitter showed up, Robert drove the two of them to work. They quickly parted ways in the parking lot to avoid any unnecessary gossip from the other staff members, and because Elizabeth was running a little late for an 8:30 procedure.   
  
The ER was slammed with a mass casualty from a construction accident, and Robert found himself completely swamped for the entire morning. It was one patient, after another, after another. It was never ending.  
  
Meanwhile, Elizabeth was still stuck in her 8:30 procedure due to enormous complications, and she thought she would never get out of the OR.  
  
When it looked like the procedure was finally coming to an end, Elizabeth let out an exhausted sigh of relief. As they were getting ready to close though, she began to feel a cramping pain in her lower abdomen. Asking Jensen to close for her, she stripped off her gloves and gown, and stepped out into the hall, leaning against the wall and holding her stomach.   
  
After a few seconds, the pain subsided and she decided it was probably just from standing so long during the procedure, and shrugged it off as nothing. Her pager went off, she was needed in the ICU for a post op assessment. She continued on with her day, until early afternoon when the pain returned, only this time the pain was worse, and wasn't going away like the first time.  
  
Making her way to the restroom, she went into a stall, locking the door behind her, and crouched down, holding her stomach in pain. She knew she needed to check to see if she was bleeding. She could be having a miscarriage. With her heart racing, she stood up to check. Tears formed in her eyes when she realized that she was spotting.  
  
Even though she knew that some spotting was not unusual early in a pregnancy, she was still worried. This had never happened with Ella, so she wasn't really sure what to do. Her mind was reeling, as a million different ideas went through her head. Should she call her OB and try to get an appointment for today, or maybe just try to wait it out? After all, it might just go away on it's own. She decided to take it one step at a time, deciding first that she needed to find a panty liner or a pad.  
  
Quickly heading down to the surgical admit desk, she found Shirley behind the desk and approached her. After making sure no one else was in earshot, she quietly asked Shirley if she had a panty liner or pad.   
  
Immediately Shirley picked up on the worry in her voice. "Dr. Corday, are you spotting?" she asked, gently.  
  
Elizabeth nodded.  
  
"Follow me," Shirley said, and they made their way into the women's locker room. Shirley pulled open an empty locker at the end of the row, and pulled out a box of panty liners, handing two to Elizabeth. "We keep a stash in this empty locker for emergencies," she said, referring to her and the other nurses on the floor.  
  
"Thank you so much," Elizabeth said.  
  
"Are you going to be ok Dr. Corday?" Shirley asked.  
  
"I hope so," she replied.  
  
Elizabeth headed back to the bathroom, the pain having gone away for the time being.  
  
After going to the bathroom, Elizabeth returned to her office to sit down and relax for a few minutes, and contemplate her options. Thinking it over, she decided to page Robert and see what he thought. He would want to know about it anyway. She sent him the message: "I need you now! My office, E." and then waited for him to come.  
  
The cramping was coming and going, and when Robert came running into her office, she doubled over in the chair with pain.  
  
"Oh my gosh, are you ok?" he asked, as he dropped to his knees in front of her, breathing heavily.  
  
She lifted her head to reveal tear stained cheeks.  
  
"What's wrong, Elizabeth?"  
  
She gasped as another pain struck and held her stomach. "I started cramping earlier, and now I'm spotting a little. I didn't know what to do, so I paged you. I know it's probably nothing, but…. I'm scared." She choked on the last part, and then started crying.  
  
He took her hand in his, and brushed her hair out of her face. "Shhh, it's going to be okay, but you have to calm down, Elizabeth, ok? First, we're going to get you downstairs. I'll get Dr. Coburn to come down and do an ultrasound, all right. Now, how much are you bleeding?"  
  
"Um… not much, just a little. Shirley gave me a panty liner," she said, wiping her eyes.   
  
"Are you all right to walk, or do we need to get a wheelchair?"  
  
"No I can walk," she told him. He grabbed her hand and helped her out of the chair, and they made their way down to the ER.  
  
Robert got Elizabeth settled in an exam room in the far corner of the ER, as far away from all the commotion as he could get. Then he stepped out to use the phone in the hallway to call Dr. Coburn, and get her down to the ER.  
  
Twenty minutes later, Robert sat in a chair next to Elizabeth's bed as they waited for the doctor. Finally, Dr. Coburn showed up, breezing through the door, carefree.  
  
"Ok, Elizabeth. Robert tells me that you're about ten weeks pregnant, and you're having some cramping and spotting."  
  
"Yes," Elizabeth said, warily.  
  
"Ok, well ten weeks is a little too early for a transabdominal ultrasound, I'm afraid we'll have to do a transvaginal ultrasound, it might be a little uncomfortable, but we'll be able to tell what's going on in there better. Robert, do you want to step out now, I don't think Elizabeth needs an audience."   
  
He was about to do as she said, but then Elizabeth stopped him by grabbing his hand. "Stay. Please?" she asked.  
  
He nodded and sat back down, still keeping a tight grasp on her hand. Dr. Coburn prepared all the instruments for the exam.   
  
She had Elizabeth put her legs up in the stirrups to begin the ultrasound. Elizabeth knew the best way to get through the discomfort was to just relax, so she concentrated on taking deep, even breaths. Dr. Coburn showed them the baby on the ultrasound. It was so small.  
  
"You're lucky, Elizabeth. Everything looks normal. Your baby is just fine. It's not uncommon to have some bleeding during the first trimester, as long as there's no extremely heavy bleeding. It will eventually go away on it's own. If it doesn't, come back and see me. But I do want you to take it easy for the rest of the day. Go home, and relax. I don't want you stressing out over this, stress isn't good for the baby. And if you're still having cramps, you can take some ibuprofen."  
  
"Ok, thank you," Elizabeth said, putting her legs back down on the bed. Then Coburn left, leaving Robert and Elizabeth alone in the room.  
  
Elizabeth let out a sigh of relief.  
  
"See, I told you everything would be fine. You really should learn to listen to me," Robert said, smiling.  
  
Robert handed Elizabeth a clean pair of scrubs, "You get dressed, and then I'll take you home, where you are going to relax for the rest of the day. Doctors orders."  
  
"Well I guess I have to obey the doctors orders," she said, getting out of the bed.  
  
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They enjoyed a quiet evening with Ella, eating macaroni and cheese, and watching a movie. Robert put Ella to bed at eight, and at nine, Elizabeth decided it was time for her to go to bed as well.   
  
Getting up from the couch, she pulled Robert up too. "You're staying tonight, right?" she asked.   
  
"Sure," he replied.  
  
"Good, let's go to bed," she said, and they both climbed the stairs to the bedroom.  
  
  
  
Too sappy? How is the character of Romano? Is my portrayal of him unrealistic? Tell me what you think! 


	7. Surprise Dinner

Chapter 7 is here. Thank you for your reviews, and please keep writing them!! To clear up a question asked by someone (I forget who it was) Robert and Elizabeth so far are just friends. They are not officially a couple, even though they do spend a lot of time together.  
  
Feedback is greatly appreciated!  
  
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Elizabeth quietly entered Robert's house late the next evening. She had had a late shift that night, and Robert wasn't working so he volunteered to watch Ella during the day. He absolutely adored that little girl, and loved spending time with her.  
  
It was a nearly midnight, when Elizabeth arrived at Robert's house, and she was expecting both Robert and Ella to be asleep.   
  
Setting her purse and coat down in the hall, she noticed light coming through underneath the kitchen door. Pulling off her scarf, she pushed the door open and stopped dead in her tracks. She gasped.  
  
Robert was in the kitchen standing next to the table. The table that was elegantly set with his fine china, cloth napkins, fancy silverware, and wine glasses. In the center of the table stood two candles, shining brightly in the dim kitchen.   
  
"I thought you'd never get home," he said quietly, and somewhat seductively.   
  
"Robert, what is all of this?" she asked, stunned, yet happy.  
  
"Dinner, just you and me."  
  
"Robert, it's beautiful," she breathed, crossing the room to approach him.  
  
"And you haven't even tasted the food yet," he said smiling.  
  
Suddenly, without any warning, and without thinking, Elizabeth leaned in and kissed him. The kiss was soft and gentle and wonderful. Everything they both had ever imagined it to be.  
  
Their lips parted and she smiled at him, her cheeks flushing.   
  
"I was actually only expecting a thank you, but that was nice too. Now come sit, and dinner will be served," he said, gesturing towards the table. She followed him over to the table, and he pulled her chair out for her.   
  
Robert went to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle that looked like wine.   
  
"Oh, Robert, I can't have wine, the baby," she said, looking down at her stomach.  
  
"Don't worry, it's sparkling grape juice. Honestly Elizabeth, did you think I would actually try to give you wine," he said, teasing.  
  
She laughed, as he filled her glass and then his own. Putting the bottle back on the counter, he began to serve the meal.  
  
He had spent a good part of the evening cooking his own homemade pasta sauce for the ravioli he was making. He had also prepared a salad, and breadsticks to go along with it, and there was a homemade chocolate cake for dessert.  
  
"Robert, did you make all this food yourself?" she asked sometime during the meal.  
  
He nodded, since his mouth was full.  
  
"I just never imagined you as the cooking type," she said honestly. "The food is wonderful."  
  
"Thank you. You know, I've lived alone for a long time, so I kind of had to learn how to cook. Can't live on fast food my whole life."  
  
"That's true. How was Ella today? Did she behave for you?"  
  
"She was a perfect angel," he replied sincerely.   
  
"You like spending time with her, don't you?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
"I do," he answered honestly. "There's just something about the innocence of a little kid. Especially Ella, she's absolutely adorable."  
  
"She likes you too," she told him. "Every time I mention your name, her face lights up."  
  
After they were both finished with their meal, and their dessert, Robert began to load the dishwasher, while Elizabeth helped clear off the table.  
  
"Do you want to stay tonight?" he asked hopefully, as he loaded the last of the silverware into the dishwasher, and closed it up.  
  
"I'd love to."  
  
They made their way up the stairs and into Robert's bedroom, foreign territory for Elizabeth. She slipped off her shoes and placed them next to the door.  
  
Robert showed her around the room, and then the large master bathroom, showing her where anything she might need was.  
  
They returned to the bedroom, and Robert went over to his dresser, opening the top drawer and pulling out a pair of plaid pajama pants and a t-shirt.  
  
"Here," he said, "You can sleep in these," he told her, handing over the clothes.   
  
He went back to get his own pajamas, and when he turned around, Elizabeth started to take off her shirt. She threw it into a pile on the floor and grabbed his t-shirt off the bed, slipping it over her head, and then pulling her hair out of the collar. Then she undid the side zipper of her black pants, and slid them off, revealing her black panties. She slipped on the pajama bottoms Robert had given her, only slightly baggy on her. They would do for tonight.  
  
Robert pulled on his pajamas, and Elizabeth pulled the comforter down on the bed, crawling into the left hand side and slipping under the covers. Throwing his clothes into his walk- in closet, he flicked the bedroom light off, and crawled in with her.   
  
At first neither of them spoke, but then Elizabeth's voice broke through the silence. Her voice soft and tender, she whispered, "Can we call that our first date?"  
  
In the darkness, he reached over and pulled her close to him, her head resting against his chest, his arm around her shoulder. He brushed the hair away from her ear, and put his mouth close to it, and whispered, "As long as it's not the last." And with that they both fell asleep in each others arms. 


	8. Migraine Monster

Here is chapter 8. Hope you like it. Please review.   
  
Thank you to all who have been reviewing!!  
  
Feedback is greatly appreciated!  
  
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Elizabeth woke the next morning to the sun streaming in through a crack in the curtains. She glanced next to her and saw that Robert was facing the opposite way lying on his side, snoring lightly.  
  
Sleepily climbing out of bed, Elizabeth decided to take a shower before Ella woke up. She stopped to look in the mirror before she made it to the shower, taking in her wild curls, and tired eyes. Continuing on to the shower, she stripped off the pajamas, and got in, relaxing under the warm water.  
  
Robert rolled over in his bed and noticed the other side was empty. It was then that he heard his shower running, and relief flooded through him. She didn't leave, hadn't changed her mind about staying and left sometime during the night. She was still here, in his shower.  
  
A few minutes later, Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom wrapped only in a towel.  
  
Realizing that he was awake she said, "Good morning," leaning against the door frame.   
  
He moaned. "Morning," he replied back grumpily.   
  
"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," she teased.  
  
"Sorry. In case you couldn't tell, I'm not a morning person." He buried his head under a pillow, and pulled the blankets up over himself.  
  
"Would some coffee help wake you up?" she asked.  
  
He groaned again. "Do I have to get up?" he whined.  
  
"Yes, you'll be late for work. Give me a second to put some clothes on and I'll go make some coffee."  
  
She picked up her clothes that had been tossed on the floor last night and went to put them on. She would have to go home to change clothes before she went to work. It would be a little suspicious showing up in the same clothes she wore yesterday.  
  
As Elizabeth went downstairs to make the coffee, Robert dragged himself out of bed and into the shower.  
  
Ten minutes later, he joined Elizabeth in the kitchen, who was getting Ella some juice to drink. Sitting down at the counter, he could already feel the beginnings of a headache. He hoped it wouldn't turn into one of the recurring migraines that he frequently suffered from.  
  
Grabbing a mug off the counter, he filled it with coffee and took a sip.  
  
"I need to go home and change. I have to be at work in less than an hour," she said, looking at her watch.  
  
Gathering all the things that she had left in various places turned out to be quite a task. Her scarf was in the kitchen, her coat and purse in the hall, and Ella's stuff was in the living room.   
  
"Okay, I think I've got all of my stuff. Ella's still got some things in the bedroom, but I'll come back for those after work. I have to go, okay?"  
  
"Sure," he said, sounding a little irritated.   
  
"I'll see you at work," she said, giving him a quick peck on the lips.  
  
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Robert was slow at getting ready and ended up being late to work.  
  
"You're late," Jerry told him when he finally entered the ER.  
  
"Really, I had no idea," he said sarcastically. "Get back to work!" he yelled.   
  
The pain in his skull was worsening with the noise from the bustling ER. He was sure that in the next few hours of work it would turn into a full blown migraine, which he really didn't have time for.  
  
Everyone seemed to be getting on Robert's nerves this morning, even more than usual. He knew he was just being grouchy because his head hurt, but he couldn't help it.  
  
"Can anyone here do anything right?" he grumbled to himself after a long trauma in which the med students had screwed everything up. The one guy, whose name Robert couldn't even remember, was having difficulty starting an IV.  
  
"Dr. Romano, multiple MVA's coming in. ETA three minutes," Susan said, running past him.  
  
Wonderful, he thought to himself.  
  
"Okay let's move him on my count!" Gallant shouted. "One, two, three."  
  
Robert grabbed his stethoscope and began to listen to the patients chest and belly.  
  
Feeling around his stomach for any tenderness, the patient cried out in pain.  
  
"Belly is tender, there's rebounding on the right. Page surgery right away, this guy needs an ex-lap."  
  
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Fifteen minutes later, a surgical consult had still not arrived yet.  
  
"Where the hell are they? Do I have to take this guy up myself?" he yelled. "Page Dr. Corday again," he told the nurse, slightly more calm than before.  
  
"Dr. Romano, all the surgeons are busy. They said they'll send someone as soon as they can," one of the nurses told him, cautiously.  
  
"Well, we don't have time to wait," he raged, the pounding in his head threatening to overwhelm him. He decided to calm down a little, only for the sake of his headache. He needed to take something, anything, even Tylenol, but there was no time. The more time that passed without taking any medication, the worse his migraine would get, he knew that from experience.  
  
After another ten minutes waiting for the consult, Elizabeth finally pushed through the doors of trauma one.   
  
"What've we got?"  
  
"MVA. This guy needs an ex-lap right away. Someone should have been here thirty minutes ago to take him up," he complained.  
  
"I'm sorry. I was stuck in the OR, along with every other surgeon," she told him, a little annoyed with the tone he was taking with her.  
  
Deciding that she didn't want to get into a full blown argument with Robert, she didn't say any more to him about it. She proceeded to transport the patient up to surgery.  
  
As she left, Romano stormed out of the trauma room, heading over to the admit desk to see how backed up the board was. He was surprised to find that it really wasn't too bad.  
  
Since there was a break in the madness, he stepped into the lounge to grab a quick cup of coffee before heading to the rack of charts and picking up three new patients.  
  
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Finally Robert looked down at his watch to see that it was the end of his shift. It was a little after seven when he retreated into the lounge and fell onto the couch, sinking into the cushions. It felt good to finally be sitting in a dark, quiet room. That's all he had wanted all day. Maybe now he could finally get rid of the terrible migraine.  
  
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Elizabeth exited the OR at exactly seven that night, grateful that her shift was over.  
  
She went to change out of her scrubs before heading back to her office to collect her coat and purse.  
  
Knowing that Robert was off at the same time, she decided to go downstairs and try to find him, thinking they could go back to his place and order something in. Hopefully he would be in a better mood than he had been earlier today.  
  
"Frank, have you seen Robert?" she asked as she entered the ER, approaching the admit desk.  
  
"I think I saw him go into the lounge a few minutes ago. He's off now."  
  
"I know, thanks." She made her way down the hall and cautiously entered the dim lounge.  
  
"Robert?" she said quietly into the darkness.  
  
"What do you want?" came the reply.  
  
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she was able to see that he was sitting on the couch, his head in his hands.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I just want to be left alone, ok?"  
  
"Fine," she muttered. Tears filled her eyes as she turned to flee from the room.  
  
"Wait." She almost didn't hear him, he had spoken so quietly. Her hand was on the door, but she let it fall to her side and turned to face him.  
  
"I'm sorry. I've been acting like a jerk today."  
  
"Yes, you have," she said, blinking her tears away.  
  
He looked up at her, and then rubbed his eyes.  
  
"I'm not mad at you or anything, I'm just in a bad mood. I have a terrible migraine. It's….it's just been a bad day. I'm sorry."  
  
"It's ok. I guess I'll forgive you this time," she said, taking a seat next to him on the couch.  
  
"When did your migraine start?" she asked.  
  
"This morning, and it's gotten worse as the day went on," he told her, sighing and leaning back against the couch as he rubbed his forehead.  
  
"Have you taken anything?"  
  
"No, I didn't get a chance to. It's been a busy day."  
  
"Let me get you some Imitrex, and then I'll take you home. We'll order something in. How about Chinese?"  
  
"Ok."  
  
"Wait here. I'll be right back," she said, heading out the door.  
  
She returned seconds later with the pills and a cup of water, and Robert gratefully accepted them.  
  
"Is is all right if we stop at my house and pick up Ella first? That will give me a chance to get a change of clothes too," she said, hinting at the fact that she wanted to spend the night.  
  
"What makes you think I was going to let you spend the night again?" he asked, smirking.  
  
"You owe me, I just gave you your drugs."  
  
"All right, I guess I do owe you one."  
  
"Come on, let's go." She pulled him off the couch.  
  
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After picking up Ella, getting some clothes and other essentials, and picking up some Chinese food, they finally arrived at Robert's.  
  
Ella had already eaten with Chris, so Elizabeth went to put her to bed in the guest bedroom. She settled Ella in with her blanket and teddy bear and kissed her goodnight.  
  
Robert set the food down on the coffee table in the living room, and waited for Elizabeth to come back downstairs.  
  
They ate quickly, both of them tired after the long day.  
  
While Elizabeth cleaned up the Chinese, Robert went upstairs to lie down, and when she finally made it upstairs, he was sound asleep still dressed in his work clothes; slacks, long-sleeved shirt, and tie. He had managed to take his shoes off and leave them in the middle of the floor.  
  
She laughed at him and went to get ready for bed. 


	9. Closet Space

Wow, ok, so I got a pregnancy book at Goodwill for 50 cents this weekend. I thought maybe it would help me with writing Elizabeth's pregnancy more accurately, and I found out I have actually made some terrible errors. For example, I didn't know that pregnant women aren't supposed to take over the counter drugs without consulting their OB because they can be harmful to the baby, and at least two times I've had Elizabeth taking OTC drugs. Whoops! Please forgive me. I'm a mere 18 years of age and have never had a baby, so sorry for the mistakes. Did any of you know that? Let me know if I do something stupid like that again.  
  
Meanwhile, here is chapter 9. Sorry it's been a while since the last update. With the semester winding down I've had a huge amount of work thanks to Composition I and that damn research paper! This chapter is just a little Cordano something. Let me know if you think the story is getting boring and I will try to pick it up a little.  
  
Thanks to all my faithful reviewers out there, you know who you are. I really appreciate you taking the time to give me feedback. It makes the writing worthwhile.  
  
On with the chapter…..  
  
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By now Elizabeth was nearing the fourth month of her pregnancy.   
  
That particular morning, Elizabeth was lying on Robert's bed, struggling to get her pants buttoned and zipped. It was turning out to be harder than she imagined. During the past few weeks she had put on quite a few pounds. She was just getting to the point where most of her clothes didn't really fit..  
  
Robert came into the bedroom, toothbrush in his mouth.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked at her struggle with the pants.  
  
"My pants don't fit," she whined.  
  
Robert laughed.  
  
"It's not funny," she said seriously.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
He returned to the bathroom to finish brushing his teeth. When he came back into the bedroom, Elizabeth threw her pants at him.  
  
"I guess I'll have to put my scrubs on," she said, going to get her bag from the other side of the bed. "I didn't bring any other clothes with me."  
  
He could tell she was irritated. He was trying to think of something he could do to make her feel better when it hit him.  
  
He crossed the room and approached her as she dug through her bag for the scrubs she had packed. Coming up behind her, he put his arms around her stomach. As he pulled her close, taking in the smell of her freshly washed hair, he said "After work, how about we go to your house so you can get some clothes and other things to bring over here. I'll clear out some closet space for you and a couple of drawers, okay?"  
  
"Robert, you know you don't have to do that. I'm just frustrated with the pants."  
  
"But I want you to feel at home here. I don't know why I didn't think of it before. Of course you need someplace here to keep your stuff."  
  
"Thank you," she said, turning around to kiss him. After a few seconds their lips parted, leaving them both wanting more.  
  
They started kissing again, but this time they were interrupted by a tiny voice that said, "Mommy?"  
  
Elizabeth broke away from the kiss. "What is it sweetheart?"  
  
"When are we going bye-bye?" she asked sweetly. Elizabeth looked at her watch.  
  
"In a few minutes, Ella."  
  
"Ok," she replied simply and toddled out of the room.  
  
Robert leaned in for another kiss once Ella was out of the room, but Elizabeth put a hand against his chest to stop him.  
  
"Later, ok? We're late."  
  
**************************************************************  
  
  
  
Work passed fairly quickly, and before she knew it, Elizabeth was picking Ella up from daycare. After signing her out, they headed downstairs to find Robert, since he was their ride home.  
  
Robert was just handing his last patient over to Dr. Lewis who was working the night shift.  
  
By now, the whole hospital was aware of Robert and Elizabeth's relationship. It was hard to keep anything a secret around the hospital. And, nearly everyone had recognized that Elizabeth was pregnant, or had heard it through the infinite amount of gossip going around. Few people, though, knew that Dr. Dorset was the father. Elizabeth had only actually told Susan and Abby, but she was sure that they were beginning to spread the word around like wild fire.  
  
"Ready to go?" Elizabeth asked as she approached Robert, toting Ella in her arms.  
  
"Hey let me take the munchkin. You shouldn't be lifting her."  
  
She handed Ella over to him, gratefully. Ella greeted Robert with a hug, throwing her arms around his neck, and then gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek.  
  
"Hey now, your mom's going to get jealous," he joked, and Ella giggled. She had become quite attached to Robert lately.  
  
"Come on, let's go home," Elizabeth said, pulling them both towards the door. "My feet are killing me."  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Before heading to Robert's, they stopped at Elizabeth's house to pick up some of her clothes. Pulling one of Mark's old sports bags off the top shelf of her closet, Elizabeth began to fill it with a few pairs of pants, a couple of skirts, and a maternity dress that she was considering wearing.  
  
Moving out of the closet, she went to her dresser, and pulled out some pajamas, a few pairs of underwear and a couple of bras, tossing them into her bag.  
  
Robert wandered into the room as she finished packing up the rest of her stuff.  
  
"I have to pee," Elizabeth blurted out, annoyed. She dropped her bag onto the bed, clothes spilling out. "This must be the twentieth time I've peed today," she said, walking into her bathroom and slamming the door shut.  
  
When she came out a minute later, Robert was repacking the bag, zipping it up as he finished.  
  
"What do you want for dinner?" he asked, hearing her washing her hands at the sink.  
  
"I don't know," she replied, drying her hands on a towel. "How about pancakes? That sounds really good. And bacon." She paused. "I'm so hungry."  
  
"Ok, well let's go," he said, picking up the bag and heading down the stairs.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
  
  
Elizabeth sighed and leaned back in her chair at the dinner table. "I think I ate too much," she mumbled.  
  
"I've never seen you eat that much before."  
  
"I told you I was hungry," she told him, smiling. "Let's do the dishes tomorrow," she told him.  
  
"Okay, let's go upstairs," he said, pulling her out of the chair.  
  
Elizabeth decided to take a shower, so Robert flopped onto the bed and turned on a baseball game on ESPN.  
  
A few minutes later, Elizabeth emerged from the bathroom dressed in her pajamas, and crawled into the bed next to Robert. He flicked off the TV and went to brush his teeth.   
  
He shut the lights off as he climbed into bed.  
  
Elizabeth couldn't sleep. Robert had rolled onto his side and looked like he was nearly asleep, but Elizabeth continued to lie there staring at the ceiling. She fidgeted around in the bed, trying to get comfortable. She rolled from one side to the other, and sighed.  
  
"What's wrong?" Robert mumbled sleepily,  
  
"I can't sleep. I have heartburn."  
  
"Well it's no wonder, with all that food you ate tonight."  
  
She moaned. "Don't remind me. I feel sick."  
  
"I'm sorry." He turned over to face her. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked, placing a hand on her stomach.  
  
"No, not really."  
  
"Lift up your head for a second, I'll put another pillow underneath. You should keep your head elevated."  
  
"Oh my gosh," Elizabeth gasped.  
  
"What?" Robert asked, worried, sitting up in the bed.  
  
"The baby just kicked!"  
  
"Are you serious?"   
  
She grabbed his hand and placed it on the exact spot where she had felt the strong kick.  
  
"I don't feel anything," Robert said.  
  
She moved his hand over to the right a little.  
  
"Right there, did you feel that?" she asked, smiling at him,  
  
Robert was speechless for a moment. "Oh my gosh, I felt it," he said, his face lighting up.  
  
He leaned down to kiss her gently.  
  
"Robert, wait, I want to ask you something. I've been wanting to ask you this for a while, and now seems like the perfect time."  
  
"What is it?" he asked cautiously.  
  
"I want you to be the father of this baby. I want you to be a part of his life."  
  
"Of course I will. Did you ever doubt the fact that I would want to be?"  
  
"Not for a second."  
  
"So you think it's a boy? You said 'his life'."  
  
"It's just a feeling," she said smiling, and then they began to kiss, forgetting all about Elizabeth's heartburn. 


	10. Rest and Relaxation, Or Not

Okay here is Chapter 10. Read, enjoy and review!   
  
Feedback is greatly appreciated!  
  
Just a little note: I will not be writing Robert's death into this story as someone asked. To see it happen once on TV was hard enough, I couldn't bear to write about it happening. Besides it would kind of defeat the purpose of the whole story.   
  
Also, I realize my story is hovering on the line of sappy, but what can I say, I'm not good at writing the drama or conflict. I like to read those kinds of fics but don't really have a clue how to write them. If you've got any suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them, you can e mail me at mulderbabe@hotmail.com. But mostly my goal was to just write a lighthearted fic. Both of them have been through enough crap, and they deserve some happiness.  
  
And now, onto the story…  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
The months were flying by and before they knew it, Elizabeth was six months pregnant.  
  
It was a Friday morning, and for once Elizabeth and Robert finally had a few days off together. Elizabeth had taken a couple of sick days, just to get away from the stress of the hospital, and since Robert was chief of the ER, he took the liberty of taking a few days off as well.  
  
Knowing that Elizabeth had stayed up late the past few nights, Robert decided to let her sleep in. She needed her rest.  
  
Chris had volunteered to take Ella to her place for the next few days so that the two of them could enjoy their time off together. Elizabeth was a little reluctant at first, but was finally persuaded by Robert, who convinced her that they could use some time alone together.  
  
Figuring Elizabeth was exhausted and probably just wanted to spend her time resting, Robert's plans for the weekend consisted mainly of the two of them lounging around the house, doing as they pleased.  
  
A little after eleven, Elizabeth awoke and wandered downstairs, finding Robert in the den, checking his e mail.  
  
"Hey, you finally woke up?" he asked, turning around in his chair as she took a seat on the couch.  
  
"That was the best night's sleep I've had in months."  
  
They sat there in silence for a few seconds staring at each other.  
  
"I'm bored," Elizabeth finally said.  
  
"Bored, how can you be bored already? You just woke up."  
  
"I don't know. I'm just restless. I want to get away. Go someplace different."  
  
"Like where?" he asked.  
  
"Anywhere," she said, sighing.  
  
"Well let's go," he told her. "Go pack your stuff."  
  
"You can't be serious."  
  
"Of course I am. We don't have anything else to do, we're off all weekend."  
  
"That's true," she said, a smile spreading across her face.  
  
Helping her up from the couch, they climbed the stairs and began to pack a few clothes and other necessities. They were ready to go in less than forty minutes.  
  
"So, where are we going?" Elizabeth asked.  
  
"I'm not really sure yet." he told her honestly.  
  
"We'll figure that out later."  
  
Packing their stuff in the backseat of Robert's SUV, they got in and set off for wherever it was they were going.  
  
An hour later, Robert had finally figured out what they should do.  
  
"How about we rent a cabin up in Wisconsin. We can spend the weekend there, all alone."  
  
"That sounds lovely," Elizabeth told him. "But can we stop at a bathroom, I have to pee."  
  
"No problem," Robert said, pulling off at the upcoming exit. Elizabeth ran into the gas station to use the bathroom and grab a few snacks, while Robert pumped the gas.  
  
Elizabeth wandered around the small store looking for a somewhat healthy snack that looked appealing to her at the moment. So far she hadn't found anything.  
  
After a few minutes, Robert came into the store to find Elizabeth, wondering what was taking her so long.  
  
"I need to eat something," she said approaching him, as he found her on one of the aisles.  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Something healthy."  
  
They searched the three tiny isles for a few minutes, finally deciding on a few granola bars, some pretzels, a few bottles of water, and a bottle of juice for Elizabeth.  
  
On the road again, Elizabeth ate two granola bars, and drank nearly the entire bottle of juice before falling asleep in the passenger seat. Meanwhile, Robert continued to drive, heading up to Wisconsin. He knew exactly where he was going. A friend of his owned a campground up there, and knew it would be the perfect place to get away with Elizabeth. It was quiet and comfortable.  
  
A while later, Elizabeth stretched and leaned forward in her seat rubbing her neck. "Are we almost there?" she asked, sounding slightly whiny.  
  
"We've still got another hour or so."  
  
"Can we stop somewhere so I can get out and walk around for a minute, my back is killing me. And I have to go to the bathroom again."  
  
"Already? It's only been like an hour." He was a little irritated.  
  
"I can't help it you know. Do you think I enjoy this?" she said, raising her voice a little.  
  
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I know you can't help it. Just give me a minute to find somewhere to stop."  
  
Once they were on the road again, the drive seemed to go quicker, and they finally arrived at the camp ground. Elizabeth waited in the car while Robert went inside to rent the cabin and get the key.  
  
Within a few minutes, they were heading back into the woods, on their way to the cabin.  
  
Coming to a halt in front of a large cabin about ½ a mile down the dirt road, they both climbed out of the car.  
  
Robert grabbed their bags from the backseat, and unlocked the door, pushing it open and allowing Elizabeth to step inside first.  
  
"It's beautiful," Elizabeth breathed, taking in the interior. "This is perfect."  
  
The cabin was quite large, with a living room, kitchen, and bathroom, and was decorated in a pretty country theme.  
  
Elizabeth wandered into the bedroom, as Robert followed. She flopped onto the large bed and looked out the window.  
  
"Tired?" he asked.  
  
"Kind of. It was a long drive."  
  
"Take a nap, I'm going to run out to the store and get some food for us to eat. Do we need anything else?"  
  
"I can't think of anything," she told him yawning.  
  
"Ok, I'll be back in a little bit. You take it easy while I'm gone. No strenuous activity or heavy lifting, got it?" he joked with her.  
  
"Yes sir," she replied sarcastically as she curled up on her left side, trying to get comfortable.  
  
It only took a few minutes for her to doze off, and she fell into a deep sleep..  
  
Robert hurried through the small store, grabbing a few things here and there, making sure to pick out healthy foods that would be good for Elizabeth to eat. He picked up some tea for Elizabeth, because he knew she liked to drink a cup of tea before going to bed. It helped her relax, and settled her stomach if she wasn't feeling well.   
  
Hurrying back to the cabin, he returned to find Elizabeth still asleep. After unloading all the groceries, he joined Elizabeth in the bed, wrapping his arms around her and falling asleep as well.  
  
A few hours later, Robert woke up and was suddenly aware that he was alone in the room. Rubbing his eyes, he stumbled out of bed, and made his way out of the bedroom.   
  
He found Elizabeth sitting at the table nibbling on the chocolate chip cookies that he had brought back from the store. Out of all the healthy alternatives he had bought she decided to eat the one unwholesome treat that he had allowed himself to buy.  
  
"You know, I bought fruit for you. There's apples in the refrigerator."  
  
"I know, but these looked really good. I couldn't help myself."  
  
"Ok, well anyway, it's nearly five o'clock. I thought for dinner we could take a picnic and eat out by the lake. It's beautiful out there."  
  
"That sounds lovely," she said, finishing the last of her cookie and getting up from the table. "I'm going to go change into something a bit warmer, it's getting pretty cold outside. I'll come help you get the picnic ready in a minute."  
  
After changing into a long sleeved shirt, throwing on a soft sweater and tying her hair back away from her face, she returned to the kitchen to help Robert prepare their dinner.   
  
Stepping out of the cabin into the chilly air, Elizabeth shivered slightly.  
  
"We can eat inside if it's too cold for you," Robert said, concerned. "I don't want you catching pneumonia."   
  
"No it's fine. I like it actually."  
  
They found a lovely spot under a large oak tree, and Robert spread a blanket down for them to sit on. He set the food down on the blanket, and helped Elizabeth sit down so she didn't hurt herself.   
  
The two of them enjoyed the peace and quiet of the outdoors, and each others company. Leaning up against the tree, Elizabeth fell back into Robert's arms as they sat and silently watched the sun casting its hues of pink and orange across the sky as it slowly sank out of view.   
  
Finally when it was nearly completely dark, coldness forced them back inside the cabin due to the lack of sunshine that had been there only moments ago, shedding it's warmth upon them.  
  
Both exhausted, they quickly dressed in their pajamas and fell into bed.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
After sleeping late the next morning, they spent most of the day wandering around the grounds, doing a little exploring, and mostly relaxing. They took a walk by the lake at around mid afternoon.   
  
The weekend passed quickly, and before they knew it, it was Sunday afternoon and they were packing up the car to begin making the trip home.  
  
Elizabeth had awoken feeling a little strange, but she didn't say anything to Robert. There was a vague aching in her back, but she convinced herself that she had just slept on it wrong, and tried to forget about it. She didn't want to seem whiny, always complaining to Robert that something was wrong.  
  
She dozed off almost as soon as the car had started, and slept soundly for a little while. She woke up when she heard the engine shut off, as Robert was stopping to get gas.  
  
"You want to go to the bathroom?" he asked as she rubbed her eyes and turned to face him.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be back in a minute," she said, opening the door and climbing out.  
  
On the road again, they were getting close to being home. Out of nowhere, Elizabeth leaned forward, placing a hand on her stomach. Her face was scrunched up in pain.  
  
"What's wrong?" Robert asked, suddenly worried.  
  
"It's nothing," she said, trying to sound convincing.   
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"Yeah," she said, as the pain subsided and she leaned back in her seat. The ache in her back had intensified slightly since the morning.   
  
A few minutes later, the same pain throughout her abdomen and lower back made her double over. This time Robert was not going to let her say it was nothing.  
  
"Elizabeth, are you having contractions?"  
  
"Um, I think so," she told him, wincing.  
  
"Where is the pain?" he asked.  
  
"It started in my back this morning, and now it's in my back and my stomach," she told him.  
  
"Why didn't you say something earlier?" he questioned.  
  
"Well I didn't think it was anything. I just thought I slept on my back wrong."  
  
"Okay, we have to get you to the hospital. You need to be on a monitor. It might just be Braxton-Hicks contractions, but we can't take a chance with your previous history of going into pre-term labor with Ella. Luckily, we're not far from County. We can be there in 15 minutes. Are you going to be ok until then?"  
  
"I'll survive. The contractions are coming every 8 minutes or so," she said, relaxing a little as the next one passed.  
  
Robert drove as fast as he possibly could, arriving at County a few minutes earlier than he had calculated.  
  
He quickly pulled up in the ambulance bay, thrusting the car into park before jumping out and rushing to the other side to help Elizabeth out of the car.  
  
He noticed Abby and Luka standing off to the side, talking, actually in looked like they were arguing. Typical, he thought.  
  
"Hey, we could use a little help over here!" he yelled.  
  
Spotting Robert trying to support Elizabeth, who was doubled over grimacing, Luka ran over to help Robert support her weight, while Abby raced inside to get a wheelchair.   
  
Seconds later, half of the ER staff was rushing outside to help get Elizabeth into the hospital. They wheeled her through the ER and into Exam 3. Abby paged Dr. Coburn to come down right away and hooked Elizabeth up to a fetal monitor.  
  
Robert helped her into the hospital gown, and pulled a chair up next to the bed, sitting down and grasping her hand tightly.  
  
She squeezed his hand as another contraction hit her. Dr. Coburn came flying through the door seconds later yelling orders at the nurses and asking to see a printout of the fetal activity.  
  
"Okay let's get her started on tributylene and try to stop these contractions. Elizabeth, I need to examine you, ok?"  
  
Elizabeth nodded, feeling very uneasy.  
  
"Ok," Dr. Coburn said, pulling the sheet back down over Elizabeth's legs. "You're only about two centimeters effaced, but dimpled, not dilated. We can control that, ok? Everything is going to be fine."  
  
Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief, a few tears spilling out onto her cheeks. Robert quickly wiped them away, and gently kissed her cheek.  
  
"See, everything's going to be fine," he told her calmly.  
  
"Keep giving the tributylene. If the contractions continue after thirty minutes, you can start 5 mg of magnesium by IV."  
  
"I'll be back to check on you in about an hour, all right Elizabeth?" Dr. Coburn asked.  
  
"Ok," was Elizabeth's only response.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
Two hours later, Elizabeth lay resting in her bed, the contractions having stopped over an hour ago. Robert sat quietly in the chair, staring off into space.  
  
"Are you ok?" she asked him.  
  
"Hey, I'm the one who should be asking you that," he said, smiling at her.  
  
"I'm all right," she told him. "You're awfully quiet, is something wrong?"  
  
"I was just scared, that's all. I was so worried about you, and the baby." He sighed.  
  
"Well we're fine, we're going to be fine. You don't have to worry anymore. I'm monitored, and they're keeping me overnight for observation, so nothing bad is going to happen. Now why don't you go home and get some rest, you must be exhausted."  
  
"No, I'm not going to leave you. I'll stay here tonight. Look," he said, pointing to the bed next to her. "That bed is empty, I'll sleep there. But I'm not going to leave this room."  
  
"Fine by me," she said, smiling at him.  
  
He went over and climbed onto the empty bed, curling up on his side. "Goodnight, Elizabeth," he whispered, before his eyes began to flutter closed.  
  
"Good night, Robert. I love you," she told him, but he was already asleep, oblivious to what she had just said.  
  
Hope you liked it!! Tell me what you think!! 


	11. Back to Work

Chapter 11 is here. This might be the last chapter for a few weeks because I will be out of town starting this weekend and won't be back until New Years Day, but if I do happen to get a quick chapter done before I leave, I will post it for you all to enjoy.  
  
Thank you so much for the reviews! I appreciate them so much!!! And I hope you all are liking the story.  
  
Also I wanted to apologize for screwing up the last chapter, because at first I posted just an authors note, which turns out you aren't supposed to do (whoops! I didn't know!) Anyway then I replaced that with the actual chapter 10, but it didn't show up as updated, so some of you might not have seen it. It did then show up a few days later, anyway if you missed chapter 10 go back and read it now, or you will be confused, ok? Sorry about the babbling. Here is chapter 11.…….  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Elizabeth was getting restless. After almost two weeks of doctor ordered bed rest after the pre-term labor incident, she was sick of being in bed.  
  
Robert, knowing that if Elizabeth were to stay home alone she would not stay in bed, smartly took those two weeks off as well.  
  
Even after her frequent protests that she was feeling fine, and that there was nothing to worry about, Robert still insisted that she stay off her feet for most of the day, unless it was absolutely necessary that she get up. He waited on her hand and foot, doing anything he could for her, which was starting to get on Elizabeth's nerves. She didn't want to feel helpless. She was used to being independent and didn't really like being babied all the time. It was getting a little ridiculous.  
  
Robert knew that she was bored and irritated, but he didn't want to take any chances of her going into labor again. He wanted to follow the doctors orders perfectly, to ensure that nothing would happen to Elizabeth or the baby. Even though the baby was not genetically his, he felt an overwhelming need to protect it, a feeling he had never experienced before.  
  
Finally, the last day of Elizabeth's bed rest had ended, and it was time for both of them to go back to work. They both thought that they might go crazy if they had to spend one more day cooped up in that house.  
  
After dropping off Ella at daycare, she headed to her office, a place she hadn't been in what seemed like forever. She was actually almost relieved to be back though. It would give her something to do after spending the last two weeks watching talk shows and soap operas. She was excited to get back into the grind of things, to get back to surgery.  
  
She was scheduled for only a few minor outpatient cases today, since it was her first day back. When Shirley was doing the scheduling, she figured Elizabeth might want to take it a little easy on her first day back.  
  
However that plan fell to the wayside when multiple GSW's came in, all of whom needed surgery. All of her elective surgeries were canceled and she was called into an ex-lap, which she was hoping would be a challenging case. She was craving a challenge, feeling a little useless in her pregnant state.  
  
"Dr. Corday, back from your medical leave already?" Dr. Anspaugh asked as she entered the scrub room.  
  
"Yes, two weeks it was," she told him.  
  
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"Quite well actually. I've had plenty of time to rest, and I'm ready to be back at work."  
  
"Well good. But I'm sure you weren't expecting to be jumping right into a GSW your first day back."  
  
"No. No, I wasn't," she said warily. "But I'm looking forward to it actually."  
  
"Are you sure you're up for it?" Anspaugh asked cautiously.  
  
"Absolutely, " she replied firmly, shooting him a look that promptly ended the conversation, and then began to scrub.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, down in the ER, Robert was also glad to be back at work too. Not that he enjoyed the actual work part that much, but the tormenting people and bossing them around, that was the part he missed. Being chief of the ER did sometimes have it's perks.  
  
While he had been gone, his whole new system of organization had gone to hell, and he was focused on getting it put back together. Well actually he was mostly just yelling at people for not doing what they were supposed to while he was gone, and making other people fix it.   
  
He had talked to Elizabeth briefly when she had come down to bring up the GSW. He was a little worried that she would be doing such a complicated procedure right away, but he decided to keep his mouth shut, not wanting to make her angry.  
  
He grabbed a few charts out of the rack and headed off in the direction of the exam rooms.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Elizabeth was about two hours into the surgery and she was already regretting taking on the procedure. The patient had three bullet wounds, two of which had entered the ascending colon, so a whipple would have to be performed, which was a five hour procedure.   
  
At least she knew Anspaugh would let her take a short break now and then, unlike during her first pregnancy, when Robert was so reluctant to let her even go to the bathroom during that one long procedure that Elizabeth had endured just to prove to him that she could. Thinking back to that made her laugh to herself. That seemed like a lifetime ago. They were both totally different people.  
  
Snapping back into reality, she concentrated on the procedure and tried to forget about her aching feet and the ever present pressure on her bladder.  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Robert walked briskly down the hall, throwing three charts into their slots.  
  
"Three down, forty million to go," he said to no one in particular, as he looked out into the crowd that had formed out in chairs.  
  
"Dr. Romano, have you seen Dr. Corday?" Jerry asked, holding the phone in his left hand.  
  
"She's in surgery, a GSW, why?"  
  
"Daycare's on the phone, they can't get ahold of her, and someone needs to come pick Ella up from daycare."  
  
"Why? What's wrong?"  
  
"She's got a fever. They won't let her stay," Jerry told him.  
  
"Ok, I'll go get her. Tell them I'm on my way."   
  
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Jerry asked, apprehensively.   
  
"Did anyone ask for your opinion?" Robert shouted. "Get back to work and stay out of my business!"  
  
Jerry shrugged and picked up the phone to give daycare the message as Romano stormed down the hall and jumped on the elevator, punching the button for the third floor.  
  
Stepping off the elevator, he broke into a jog, hurrying as fast as he could to get to Ella. She was probably upset, and wanted to see a familiar face.  
  
As he burst into the room, he immediately noticed one of the workers sitting with Ella in the corner of the room. Ella was curled up into a ball on the floor, her cheeks streaked with tears and sniffling.  
  
"Ella, what's wrong sweetie?" he asked, approaching her quickly and kneeling down on the floor next to her.  
  
"I don't feel good," she told him, pulling herself up from the floor and thrusting herself into his arms.  
  
"It's ok. I'm here now. I'll make you feel better," he said, rubbing her back and standing up.  
  
"I'm sorry, Dr. Romano. We didn't want to have to call you, but we aren't allowed to let her stay if she's got a fever."  
  
"What was her temperature?" he asked.  
  
"100.9. We just took it about fifteen minutes ago."  
  
"Ok, well I'll make sure she's taken care of," Robert told her as she handed him Ella's bag and coat.  
  
Robert wasn't really sure what he was going to do with Ella now. He knew he couldn't ask for anymore time off. There's no way Kerry would allow that.  
  
He decided his best option was to take Ella down to the ER.   
  
Entering exam 2, he placed Ella on the bed.   
  
"Can you tell me what's wrong, Ella?" he asked, taking a seat next to her.  
  
She lifted her arm a little to point at her throat.  
  
"Does your throat hurt?" he asked.  
  
Ella nodded.  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
Ella pointed to her head.  
  
"Your head hurts too?"  
  
She nodded her head again. Her nose was running and she sniffled. Robert reached over on the table next to the bed to grab a tissue, and wiped her nose.  
  
"Sounds to me like you have a cold Ella. Would you like to rest here for a little while? I'll get one of the nurses to bring you some ice cream in a little bit."  
  
"Ok," she said quietly, leaning back against the pillows and curling up a little. Robert tossed a blanket over her.   
  
"I'll be back in a minute," he said.  
  
Stepping out into the hall, he found Haleh walking past. "Hey, Ella is in there," he said pointing to the room behind him. "She's got a cold, and Elizabeth's stuck in surgery, can you recheck her temp in twenty minutes and get her some ice cream?"  
  
"Sure, no problem."  
  
"Thank you," Robert replied, without thinking. Haleh was shocked. That was the first time she had ever heard those two words come out of Dr. Romano's mouth ever.  
  
"Your welcome," she said, walking away in amazement.   
  
Robert tried to get back to work, grabbing another chart and starting to examine another patient, but he just kept thinking of Ella, sick and alone in that empty, scary hospital room. He finally decided he couldn't just leave her alone in there, so he quickly snuck into the room and pulled up a chair next to the bed where Ella lay dozing.  
  
A few minutes later, Haleh came in with the ice cream and some juice, setting it on a tray on the other side of the bed.  
  
Then she grabbed the thermometer and gently stuck the probe in the child's ear to take her temperature. When it was finished it beeped, the numbers glowing red.  
  
"101.1," Haleh said to Robert, who had been looking at her for the result.  
  
"Ok, let's get her some Children's Tylenol," Robert said to her.  
  
"Sure thing," Haleh said, stepping outside to get the medicine.  
  
Robert gently shook Ella's shoulder. "Hey sweetie, I need to give you some medicine," he said.  
  
She rubbed her eyes and looked up at him tiredly.  
  
Haleh came back into the room and handed her a small cup of the liquid which she quickly swallowed.  
  
"Drink," the child cried, reaching out her hands for the juice she saw on the tray.  
  
Robert jumped up from his seat and brought her the juice. She took a few sips and handed the bottle back to Robert, lying back down.  
  
Haleh quickly slipped out of the room to leave the two of them alone.  
  
Eventually, Ella fell back asleep, but Robert never left her side, except for a brief confrontation he had with Kerry. She had asked him to step out into the hall, and then berated him for not seeing any patients.  
  
But after he explained about Elizabeth being stuck in surgery and Ella being sick and having nowhere to go, she reluctantly agreed to let him stay with her, but let him know that she wouldn't tolerate anymore nonsense from him.  
  
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Finally after seven long hours of surgery, the procedure was nearly over, and Elizabeth was more than willing to accept Anspaugh's offer to close.   
  
Exiting the OR, she went to change and grab her stuff and then headed down to the ER to find Robert. She was ready to go home.  
  
As she got off the elevator in the ER, she began looking for Robert, but after a few minutes, she still hadn't spotted him.   
  
Stopping at the admit desk, she picked up the phone and paged him to the front desk. A few seconds later he appeared.  
  
"Did someone page me?" he asked as he approached the desk, not seeing Elizabeth.  
  
"I did." Elizabeth turned to face him and smiled.  
  
"Hey, you're out of surgery. I didn't think you were ever going to get out," he told her.  
  
"Neither did I. If you're almost ready to go, I'll go get Ella."  
  
"Actually, Ella is down here," he said. "While you were in surgery, they called down here looking for you. Ella had a fever, so I had to go get her."  
  
"Is she ok? What's wrong?"  
  
"She's going to be fine. She just has a cold. She's resting in exam 2. I gave her some Children's Tylenol and she fell asleep for a few hours. Come on, I'll take you to her."  
  
They made their way down to the exam room where Ella was. Hearing the door open, Ella rolled over and sat up.   
  
"Momma!" she called, glad to finally see her mother.  
  
"Hi sweetheart. How are you feeling?"  
  
The little girl just shrugged her shoulders. Elizabeth felt her forehead which was still a little warm.  
  
"She's a little congested. We can stop at the drugstore on the way home and pick up some children's cold medicine," Robert told Elizabeth.  
  
Elizabeth took Ella in her arms, picking her up from the bed.  
  
"Ok, let's go home. I'm absolutely exhausted," she said, handing Ella over to Robert  
  
They exited the room together, Robert carrying Ella and holding Elizabeth's hand. They made their way through the doors of County, glad to finally be going home. 


	12. Eyes Wide Shut

Chapter 12!! Yea!!! I got to post another one sooner than I expected. Hope you all enjoy it and are having a wonderful holiday season!!  
  
Feedback is greatly appreciated!!  
  
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As the weeks flew past, Elizabeth found herself growing larger and larger. Today marked the eighth month of her pregnancy and she wanted nothing more than for it to finally be over. The added weight she was carrying around was beginning to aggravate her and only made it harder for her to keep working, which she had decided to do during this pregnancy.  
  
This particular day she was more irritated than usual for some reason. She placed most of the blame on her hormones. But she also hadn't had much sleep the night before, and the little sleep that she did have was plagued with strange dreams that awakened her three different times in the night. After being awakened the third time, she dismissed the notion of ever going back to sleep, so instead she got out a book and read downstairs until the sun came up.  
  
Now, at a little after two in the afternoon, she stepped into the scrub room, preparing for a gastric bypass that was scheduled to take place in a few short minutes. She splashed a little cold water on her face to try to wake herself up before the procedure. Luckily Donald was assisting her, so they would probably keep up some lively conversation which would help her to stay awake.  
  
Just then Donald pushed the door opening, entering the room with a nod and a "Good afternoon."  
  
Elizabeth plastered a fake smile on her face, nodding back at him.  
  
After they both had finished scrubbing, she followed him into the OR, where the patient was already prepped and waiting.  
  
Twenty minutes into the procedure, Elizabeth found herself starting to nod off. She snapped her head back up quickly, hoping no one had seen her. Fortunately it had gone unnoticed by all those present in the room.  
  
Trying to make herself stay awake, Elizabeth tried to keep her mind busy, thinking of things that were coming up. Christmas was only a week away. Her and Robert were planning on spending it together, with Ella of course.   
  
Thinking of Robert brought a smile to her face. She had helped him decorate the tree at his house a few weeks ago. He had mentioned to her that it was the first time in years that he had even bothered to put a tree up. When it was just him, he never felt like taking the time to bother putting the thing up when he knew no one else would even see it.  
  
"Dr. Corday... Dr. Corday..." Donald Anspaugh said quite loudly.  
  
She didn't respond. During her little daydreaming, she had nodded off again.  
  
"Dr. Corday!" he said, more harshly this time.  
  
This snapped her out of her daze. "Yes, sorry," she responded, somewhat flustered.  
  
"You're not with us here, are you? You look exhausted. Go home and get some sleep, we can't have you falling asleep in surgery."  
  
"No. No, I can finish. I'm just a bit sleepy."  
  
"Go home," he reiterated firmly.  
  
"Yes sir," she responded, slumping out of the ER, upset with herself for not being able to just finish out the day. What was the point of working if she had to be scolded by her superiors for falling asleep in surgery.  
  
Wearily, she climbed onto the El, heading to Robert's where he was waiting for her. He had gotten off a few hours earlier and had picked Ella up from daycare. The two of them actually weren't expecting her for a few more hours. I guess they'll be surprised to see me, she thought to herself.  
  
After getting off the El at the station near Robert's house, she decided against walking, even though it wasn't very far away. Instead, she hailed a cab to drive her the two and a half blocks to Robert's.  
  
Shoving a twenty at the driver, she didn't even wait for change before she got out and waddled up the driveway.  
  
As she approached the door, it swung open and right away Robert had a worried look on his face.  
  
"Elizabeth, what are you doing home?" he asked, walking out to help her up the steps.  
  
"Donald sent me home. I fell asleep in surgery."  
  
"Whoops. I guess that didn't go over too well," he said, helping her in the door and settling her down on the couch once they were inside.  
  
"No, not really."  
  
"Why didn't you call me? I would've come and picked you up. I can't believe you took a cab."  
  
"Well first I took the El to your stop and then I got off and took a cab the rest of the way."  
  
"Good God, you took the El?" he asked incredulously. "Next time call me and I will gladly come and pick you up. You do still remember that you're eight months pregnant, don't you?"  
  
"How could I forget?" she asked, glancing down at her protruding abdomen.  
  
"Ella's playing in the guest room with some toys. Why don't I help you upstairs to bed. You can take a nap, and I'll have dinner for you when you wake up."  
  
"Wonderful," she said as he pulled her up off the couch.  
  
Settling her into bed, she lay on her side, and he placed the pillow she slept with in between her knees. He pulled the blanket up around her and gently kissed her cheek before heading downstairs to check on Ella and decide what to start for dinner.  
  
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Sorry this chapter is kind of short and boring, my brain isn't functioning properly right now. But stay tuned for the next chapter, which I promise will be better!!! You'll just have to wait and see what happens!  
  
Also, I really, really want to thank those that are reviewing, it means a lot to me that you all take the time to do this, and please keep it up!!!! 


	13. UhOh! It's Time

Chapter 13 is up! I'm really sorry it took so long. I was out of town for a while and then all of my college friends were in town on break, so I spent most of my free time with them, and now school's just started back and I've been trying to figure out my schedule. I hope the next chapter won't take too long, since I kind of left you hanging. I will do my best to get the next one up soon!! I hope you enjoy the chapter, although it is a little short. It's setting up for well…you know, the birth! Read on…………..  
  
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Three weeks had passed, leaving Elizabeth eight and a half months pregnant and more uncomfortable than she had ever felt before. The only thing that helped soothe her discomfort was Robert. Even through her extreme moodiness, strange food cravings, and ever growing stomach, he was still there with her; hadn't abandoned her when things had gotten tough. This truly amazed her. She felt closer to Robert than she had ever felt to anyone in her life, including Mark and couldn't imagine what her life and pregnancy would have been like without him there.  
  
Right now, Elizabeth was in the middle of a consult down in the ER. She leaned backwards a little, trying to work the kinks out of her aching back and shoulders.  
  
Focusing her attention back on the task at hand, she ordered in a firm voice, "Let's get a CBC and a chem 7." Robert came into the trauma room just as Elizabeth was finishing her orders.  
  
"What's up?" he asked as he went to stand on the opposite side of the bed.  
  
"Right lower abdominal quadrant pain. I came down to rule out an appy."  
  
"Are you feeling ok?" he asked. Lately he was always concerned that she was going to work herself too hard.  
  
"I'm a little tired, but I'll be fine," she told him, stripping off her gloves and tossing them on the floor.  
  
"Oh, Abby!" Elizabeth called to the nurse who was nearly out the door. "Add an ABG and a...," her voice suddenly trailed off and a look of confusion crossed her face, followed quickly by one of fear.  
  
"What's wrong?" Robert asked, hurrying from the patient over to her.  
  
"Um...I think my water just broke," she told him, surprisingly composed for someone who was going into labor.  
  
Suddenly she leaned forward holding her stomach in pain.  
  
"Dr. Corday, are you having contractions?" Abby asked, putting the other patient's chart down on the counter and approaching Elizabeth.  
  
"What does it look like, genius? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out!" was Robert's sarcastic response.  
  
Ignoring his comment, Abby continued on. "Ok, let's go into exam 3, we'll get you into a gown, and then I can check how far you're dilated. There should be plenty of time to get you up to OB then."  
  
Elizabeth nodded and reached for Robert's hand as they made their way to the exam room and got Elizabeth settled onto the bed.  
  
Robert pulled a fresh hospital gown out of a drawer and went over to shut the blinds so that he could help Elizabeth get undressed with some privacy.  
  
A few minutes later, Elizabeth was dressed in her gown and Abby was beginning to examine her.   
  
"You're about four centimeters dilated, Dr. Corday. Everything's looking good so far, and we've got plenty of time to get you up to OB. I'll page Dr Coburn right now so we can get you up there as soon as possible. Are you planning on having an epidural?"  
  
"God, yes!" Elizabeth shouted as another contraction began. She reached for Robert's hand and tightly squeezed it as she tried to keep her breathing under control. "I forgot how much this hurts," she told him, as the contraction faded away.  
  
"I'm beginning to find out," he said, untangling his hand from her tight grasp and moving it out of her reach.  
  
"I'm sorry Robert. I didn't know I was hurting you," she said sincerely.  
  
"No. No, you weren't.," he told her, trying to act tough. "Just didn't realize you were so strong."  
  
Twenty minutes and two contractions later, Elizabeth and Robert were settled up on the OB floor in a cozy private delivery room which Robert had requested months in advance.  
  
"When is the doctor coming to give me the epidural?" Elizabeth asked Robert. It was obvious to him that she was in a lot of pain.  
  
"I'll go check sweetheart, ok? I'll be right back. Just keep breathing." He stepped out into the hall, looking to his right and then his left for any sign of a nurse he knew. No such luck. Well any nurse will do right now, he thought.  
  
"Hey, you!" he shouted to a nurse down the hall. The nurse looked around, confused.   
  
"Are you talking to me?" she asked him.  
  
"Yes I'm talking to you. My girlfriend, Dr. Elizabeth Corday, she's in room 2B and we've been waiting for someone to come give her an epidural for a while now. She's in a lot of pain. Can you find the doctor for us?"  
  
"Certainly," the nurse said, nodding and heading off down the hall to find Dr. Coburn.  
  
Robert turned and started to walk back to Elizabeth's room. Girlfriend, he thought to himself. I've never called her my girlfriend before. I never thought I would have a chance to call her that. A goofy smile spread across his face as he thought about Elizabeth, and Ella, and the new baby. This was probably the happiest he'd ever been.  
  
Snapping back into reality, he stepped back into the room. Elizabeth looked a little calmer than she had when he left. Her eyes were closed and her breathing seemed steady, in through the nose, out through the mouth.  
  
"The doctor should be here in a few minutes," he said, just as the door opened.  
  
Dr. Coburn stepped inside and greeted them. A nurse who had followed the doctor in began to set up a tray of instruments on the other side of the bed as the doctor spoke to them and took another quick look to see how Elizabeth was coming along.  
  
"Ok, Elizabeth, we need you to sit up and lean forward. Can you do that for me?" she asked.  
  
Elizabeth nodded.  
  
"Robert, can you stand in front of her and hold her up, we don't want her falling out of the bed."  
  
"Sure."  
  
The doctor quickly inserted the needle into her back, and before Elizabeth knew it, they were finished, and she leaned back against the pillows. She felt better already.  
  
"Ok, you're up to about six centimeters right now. But I'll be back to check on you in thirty minutes," Coburn said as she gathered up her charts and went on her way.  
  
"Do you feel any better?" Robert asked Elizabeth after everyone else had left the room.  
  
"Yeah a little. I'm just hoping it doesn't get any worse than this…"  
  
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Thanks for reading. I appreciate all the reviews you wonderful people give! Have a great day! 


	14. Maternity Ward

Here comes chapter 14! I have to say I don't really know much about childbirth so if you do, and this is horribly inaccurate then I'm sorry. All my info about pregnancy came from the books, What To Expect When You're Expecting and Pregnant and Lovin' It which came from Goodwill! Hey, I'm cheap, give me a break.   
  
Anyway, so here it is….Elizabeth is having the baby. Read on and give me some feedback. And incase anyone is wondering, this is not the end of the story, stay tuned for more after the birth.  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own ER or any of the characters, I'm just borrowing them for this fun story, so don't sue me. And no information was taken directly from the above mentioned books. I just read them to help me better understand what a pregnant woman goes though.   
  
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Half an hour later, Dr. Coburn was back to check on Elizabeth, just as she had promised.   
  
"All right, let's take a look," she said, taking a seat on a stool in front of Elizabeth.  
  
After a few minutes, Coburn stood up, motioning for the nurse to move closer.  
  
"Ok, Elizabeth, there's nothing to worry about yet, but you're still only at six centimeters. And with you being a few weeks early I want to go ahead and hook up a monitor to the baby, just as a precaution."  
  
"Is there something wrong with the baby. What's happening?" Elizabeth asked, panicked.   
  
"No, Elizabeth. There's nothing to worry about yet. I just want to be prepared in case complications arise later on. Right now everything is progressing normally."  
  
Elizabeth took a deep breath and looked at Robert. He gave her a reassuring smile and kissed her hand.   
  
"The nurse is going to hook up the monitor now and I'll be back to take another look later. The nurse has my pager number, so if you have any questions or concerns about what's happening just let the nurse know, and she'll page me, ok?"  
  
They both nodded as Dr. Coburn pulled her beeping pager off her belt and dashed out of the room to another delivery.  
  
As the nurse came over to hook up the fetal monitor, Elizabeth shifted uncomfortably in her bed.   
  
"I have to go to the bathroom."  
  
"Are you steady enough on your feet to make it?" the nurse asked. "I'll help you into the bathroom."  
  
"I can do it," Robert told the nurse, getting up from his seat and going to help Elizabeth out of the bed.  
  
"A nurse is really supposed to go with her, but I'll make an exception this time, since you are a doctor."  
  
"Thank you," Robert told the nurse graciously.   
  
Slowly, Robert and Elizabeth made their way to the bathroom and when they approached the door, Robert gave Elizabeth a wary look.   
  
She noticed his apprehensiveness, but in a firm voice she told him "I can do it myself. I don't need your help." She tried to look confident, but her shaky legs gave her away.  
  
He looked deep into her eyes, and with the most caring voice she had ever heard from him he whispered, "Let me help you." That was all it took. She nodded a small, almost imperceptible nod and he half carried her into the small restroom, shutting the door behind them.  
  
A few minutes later, they both emerged from the bathroom, Elizabeth leaning mostly on Robert as he helped her back into the bed.  
  
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An hour later, Elizabeth lay comfortably in her bed, the fetal monitor hooked up and beeping to the heart rate of the baby.  
  
Elizabeth was dozing off in the bed, as was Robert in the chair next to her.  
  
"Elizabeth, how are we doing in here?" asked Dr. Coburn who was back for another check up of mother and baby. Both of their eyes snapped open as they struggled to awaken and listen to the doctor.  
  
Sitting down, and pulling up the sheet covering Elizabeth's legs, Dr. Coburn quickly performed her examination and took a look at the fetal monitor. Robert noticed that she looked slightly concerned, like something might be wrong.  
  
"What is it?" Robert asked.  
  
"Ok, we need to talk." She sat down next to them both. "It's been a whole hour, and you're still only dilated to six centimeters. The longer we wait and leave the baby in there, the more chance there is of complications and infection. We've still got some time, but if you don't start progressing along soon, we might have no choice but to perform a c-section."  
  
"Oh, no. I don't want a c-section." Elizabeth said, almost starting to cry.  
  
"It might be our only option. We'll wait as long as we can, but it's a real possibility."   
  
"Everything's going to be ok, Elizabeth. I promise, I won't let anything happen to you or the baby," Robert told her, trying to reassure her.  
  
Robert sat down in the bed at her side. He watched as her face crumpled and took her in his arms as she buried her face in his chest.  
  
"We'll wait one more hour and then decide. I'll leave you two alone now," she said and exited the room quietly.  
  
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After another hour of waiting, Elizabeth was still quite a bit short of seven centimeters and Dr. Coburn made the decision to go ahead with the c-section. The OR was already set up and waiting for them.  
  
As they were getting Elizabeth ready for surgery, Robert was planning on scrubbing in himself to be there for the procedure. But before he could leave to go prep himself, Elizabeth grabbed onto his arm and with a desperate look in her eyes she pleaded with him, "Make sure I don't get Babcock. Don't let him be in there. You know how I feel about him."  
  
"I promise I'll kick his ass if he comes anywhere near you," he said giving her a small smile as he headed out to get gowned and scrubbed.  
  
A few nurses came and wheeled Elizabeth into the operating room, putting a cap over her head and booties onto her feet.  
  
Then a doctor suddenly appeared in front of her and began explaining what would be happening.   
  
"You'll be awake for the entire procedure. Since you've had the epidural you won't be able to feel anything. We should have the baby out fairly quickly, so just relax and everything should go just fine. You'll be a mother soon." The doctor smiled and disappeared from Elizabeth's sight.  
  
There were doctors and nurses buzzing all around the operating room setting up trays of instruments and doing other little things. Robert came into her view dressed in scrubs, a mask and a surgeons cap. He reached for her hand right away.  
  
"How are you holding up?" he asked, which came out a little muffled through his mask.  
  
"I'm all right," she told him. Then added, "A little scared."  
  
"I'm going to be here the whole time so you've got nothing to worry about."  
  
" I know."  
  
"Ok, let's get started," the doctor announced.  
  
Robert pulled up a stool next to Elizabeth's head and sat down.  
  
"Making the first incision, note the time," the doctor stated.  
  
As the doctors did their work, Robert continued to reassure Elizabeth that everything was going fine. They even talked about baby names. If it was a girl, they had narrowed it down to Alexis, Lexi for short. If it was a boy it would be Thomas, after Robert's father.  
  
Finally the baby was ready to come out.  
  
"Ok, here it comes," the doctor said as the baby was pulled out. After a few seconds, the infant began to cry, and Robert and Elizabeth looked at each other, both with tears in their eyes.  
  
"It's a girl! You two have a girl," announced the doctor.  
  
"Dr. Romano, would you like to come cut the umbilical cord?"  
  
He nodded and kissed Elizabeth on the cheek before stepping up to cut the cord. The nurse quickly wiped off the baby and wrapped her in a blanket, handing her over to Robert.   
  
Robert carefully crossed the room, and knelt down for Elizabeth to see their daughter.  
  
"Look," he cooed at the Lexi. "Here's your mom."  
  
"She's beautiful," Elizabeth said, a tear trickling down her cheek. He reached over and brushed it away.  
  
"Ok, I've got to take her back now, and you're still not finished yet. I'll be right back." He took Lexi over to the nurse, who placed him in the carriage and wheeled him outside, heading towards the nursery.  
  
The sound of alarms going off behind him drew his attention back to the operation.   
  
"She's bleeding out. We need to get this bleeding under control now!" one of the doctors yelled.  
  
"What's happening?!" Robert yelled. He quickly rushed back to where Elizabeth's head rested. She looked dazed, like she didn't know what was going on. Her eyes were fluttering closed.  
  
"What's going on?" she whispered, but before he could answer her, everything went black.  
  
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Elizabeth drifted out of the fog she had been in and was suddenly aware that she was now in a hospital room. Slowly she opened her eyes and waited a second for them to adjust to the dimness in the room. Glancing to her right, she realized that Robert was in the room sitting in a chair in the corner holding the baby.  
  
Robert glanced up from the baby when he heard Elizabeth stir.  
  
"Hey, you're awake," he said, getting up from his seat to bring her the baby. "Here's mommy," he told Alexis, gently placing the baby in her open arms.   
  
Elizabeth smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "What happened in there? All I remember was alarms going off and then everything went blank."  
  
"You lost a lot of blood. We were afraid you weren't going to make it for a while there. But you pulled through. I knew you would."  
  
"How long have I been asleep?"  
  
"About two hours. They just brought the baby back in about an hour ago. I've been holding her ever since. I couldn't seem to put her down."  
  
"I wonder how long that will last," she said smiling at him.  
  
He laughed. "Listen, Elizabeth. I need to say something to you. I've been waiting for a good time to do this. And… well, now seems like pretty good time."  
  
Elizabeth's whole body tensed up. What was he talking about? Surely he wouldn't break up with me right after I had a baby, she thought to herself.  
  
Robert reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Sitting down next to her and taking her hand, he began to say what he had been wanting to for so long. "Elizabeth. In all my life, I never thought that I could be this happy. I used to think that work, and surgery were the most important things, but I was wrong. Nothing could ever be better than being here with you and this baby. And so…Elizabeth, will you marry me?"  
  
"Oh my gosh, Robert," she said as he opened the box to reveal the ring inside. "It's beautiful."  
  
"There was only one reason why I've been waiting to ask you. I knew I wanted to get married right away, no long engagement. But I also though that this time, maybe you'd like to get married when you're not pregnant. So what do you say?"  
  
"Of course. Yes, I'll marry you," she said. He slipped the ring onto her finger and leaned in to kiss her, but they were interrupted by the baby, who had started to cry.  
  
They both laughed and looked down at her. "I think someone's hungry," said Robert.   
  
Right on time, a nurse came into the room. "I need to check your blood pressure, and examine your incision now. And then we'll go over breast feeding."  
  
"I'm going to go grab something to eat. I'll be back in a little bit," Robert told her.  
  
"I love you. Hurry back."  
  
"I love you too," he said, and then turned and went out the door.  
  
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Well, I hope you all liked it! And please review. I want to break 100 reviews before the end of the story, so any comments or feedback you have to offer will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!! 


	15. Homecoming

Here's chapter 15. Bringing the baby home. Sorry for the long wait. The story is quickly coming down to the last few chapters here. I'll try not to take so long in between. I decided to have Susan be pregnant in this story as well, just to go along with some recent events. Anyway, give me a shout, tell me what you think. Enjoy….  
  
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After two days of recuperating in the hospital, it was finally time to take the baby home. Elizabeth was dressed, packed, and more than eager to get out of the hospital and back to her own home.  
  
A light knock on the door made her turn from the hospital window she was looking at. Robert came through the door carrying Alexis in his arms. She was bundled up from head to toe as they were about to brave the crisp Chicago weather.   
  
"I think your paper work is almost finished, so we should be out of here soon," Robert said as he crossed the room and joined Elizabeth in front of the window.  
  
"Good that will get us home just in time to feed this one," Elizabeth said, taking the baby from Robert's arms.  
  
"I'll take you two home and get you settled, and then I'll head over to Susan's to pick up Ella."  
  
"I'm glad Susan was able to watch her today. She would've been bored here waiting around all morning for us to go home."  
  
"Yeah, I'm sure she's having a great time at Susan's. I hope that weird boyfriend of hers, what's his name, Chad…Chip…"  
  
"Chuck," Elizabeth interjected.  
  
"Right, Chuck. I hope he's not over there. He's dumber than a pile of bricks if you ask me."  
  
"No he's not. I think he's nice."  
  
"I didn't say he wasn't nice, but he's not the smartest cookie of the bunch."  
  
Elizabeth just rolled her eyes and walked towards the bed where she sat down.  
  
Finally a doctor came in to have Elizabeth sign the last of the paperwork.  
  
"You're all set to go. The wheelchair is waiting right outside the door whenever you're ready."  
  
"Is that really necessary?" Elizabeth began to question.  
  
"I'm afraid it's hospital policy."  
  
"But-"  
  
"Don't argue with the man," Robert said. "I'll wheel you down myself."  
  
"If you insist," she said, reluctantly giving in.   
  
"Let me take down your stuff and pull the car around and then I'll come back up to get you and the baby."  
  
She nodded and sat back down on the side of the bed.  
  
A few minutes later, Robert was helping Elizabeth into the wheelchair, and they started down the hall and to the elevator.  
  
"I'm parker near the ambulance bay, so we'll have to go through the ER to get there. Is that okay with you?"  
  
"Of course. That'll give everyone a chance to see Alexis," she said, looking down at the baby in her arms.  
  
The doors opened on the ground floor and as soon as he wheeled her out of the elevator they were surrounded by people. Haleh and Chuny ran up, cooing at the baby first. They were soon followed by Abby and Neela, and eventually even Luka and Pratt had joined the crowd.  
  
"Hey, just because I took a few days off doesn't mean you guys can let this place go to hell. What are you doing just standing around?" Romano said, trying to sound like his usual gruff self.  
  
"Oh, Robert, shut up for one second and let them admire the baby," Elizabeth told him.  
  
"Oh she's the cutest thing I've ever seen!" Haleh gushed.  
  
"She is pretty damn cute," Robert said with a huge grin on his face. Realizing who he was around, he quickly wiped the goofy grin off of his face.  
  
"Ok, it's time for me to get these ladies home. They both need their rest," Robert said, and the crowd parted, making room for him to push them through.  
  
"Good luck," Chuny called as they went through the door.  
  
After strapping the baby into the car seat and helping Elizabeth into the front seat , they headed towards home. The car ride home had put the baby to sleep, so when they got home Robert gently placed her in the crib to let her nap for a while.  
  
Elizabeth, meanwhile, headed for the kitchen, and after getting herself a glass of water, she settled down at the kitchen table with the stack of mail that had accumulated over the past few days. Robert came down to join her after putting the baby down.  
  
"Can I make you something to eat?" he offered, trying to be helpful.  
  
"I am kind of hungry. What do we have?"  
  
He opened up the refrigerator. "A whole lot of nothing," he said as he slammed the door shut.  
  
"How bout I pick something up for us to eat when I go get Ella. Speaking of that," he said, looking at his watch, "I should probably get going. I told Susan I'd be there by two. She's on at 4."  
  
"All right. I'm going to go upstairs and take a nap while Alexis is still sleeping."  
  
"Good idea. I'll be back in a little bit. Do you need anything before I go?"  
  
"No, I'll be fine. I'll see you when you get back," she said, getting up slowly from the chair. She gave him a quick kiss before heading up the stairs.  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
Robert rang the bell and looked around at the drab neighborhood that Susan Lewis called home. He knew that her County salary wasn't much, but surely she could afford a better place than this dump.  
  
A few seconds later, the door swung open revealing Chuck, who greeted Romano with a smile.   
  
"Hi, come on in. Suze is just getting Ella's things together," he said, gesturing inside the small house.  
  
Romano stepped inside and surveyed the interior of the home. However shabby the outside looked, Susan sure made up for it on the inside. It was decorated perfectly with beautiful furniture and accessories.   
  
"Nice place," Robert said, partly because he meant it and partly to keep some conversation going.   
  
"Yeah, Suzie loves to decorate. You should see her starting to decorate the nursery for the baby already."  
  
"That's a bit early. Didn't she just find out she was pregnant last week?"  
  
"Well, no, last week was when she finally started telling people. She's already about eight weeks along."  
  
"Oh I see." Just at that moment, Ella came bursting through the kitchen door, Susan following behind her carrying her Powerpuff Girls duffel bag.  
  
"Hey, Dr. Romano. It's good to see you."  
  
"I hope Ella wasn't too much of a handful."  
  
"No she was wonderful. We both had a great time. How are Elizabeth and the baby doing?"  
  
"Pretty good. They're both at home taking a nap right now. Elizabeth is exhausted."  
  
"I bet. And it's only going to get worse before it gets better, with all the midnight feedings, and colic, and so on."  
  
"Yeah," Robert said, letting out a nervous little laugh. "I'm looking forward to it, actually."  
  
"Well, good. I hope you enjoy it."  
  
"We should get going," Robert said, reaching to take the bag from Susan, and then taking hold of Ella's hand. Chuck opened the door for them.  
  
"Thank you for watching Ella. We really appreciate it," he said, as they headed out.  
  
"No problem, and congratulations."  
  
*******************************************************************  
  
"We're home!" Robert called as he and Ella entered the house.  
  
"I'm in the living room," Elizabeth called. "I'm feeding the baby."  
  
Ella quietly tiptoed into the living room.  
  
"Hi, mommy," she said quietly.   
  
"Hi there, sweetheart. How was you sleepover at Susan's?"  
  
"It was fun," she said with a huge grin on her face. "We had ice cream last night!"  
  
"Ice cream, that sounds good. What else did you do?"  
  
"Well, Susan let me watch Powerpuff Girls last night too."  
  
"Well, I'm glad you had a good time. Where'd Robert go?" she asked.  
  
"Upstairs," she told her mother.  
  
"Could you tell him to come down here please. You can go play outside on your swing set until dinner if you want."  
  
"All right, mommy." She gave her mom a quick kiss before climbing up the stairs to find Robert.  
  
"Wobert, where are you?" she called down the upstairs hall. "Wobert?"   
  
"In here Ella," came Robert's voice from the bedroom.  
  
Robert sat on the bed, his hand gripped to his prosthetic arm, a look of pain on his face. Ella popped into the room a few seconds later.   
  
Immediately she noticed the look of pain that had taken over Robert's face. "What's wrong, Wob?"   
  
He grunted a little, his face contorting in more pain.   
  
"Are you hurt Wobert? What's wrong?"  
  
"It's nothing, Ella. You wouldn't understand." He leaned back against the pillows trying to relax a little. He tried breathing deeply, in through his nose, out through his mouth.  
  
Tears welled up in little Ella's eyes. She ran from the room and quickly flew down the stairs to get Elizabeth.  
  
"Mommy, mommy!" Ella yelled.   
  
"Shh, Ella, you have to be quiet."  
  
"Mommy, something's wrong with Robert. Something is hurting him."  
  
"What do you mean, Ella. Is he ok?"  
  
"I don't know," the little girl responded.  
  
Elizabeth got up, placing the baby in the cradle in front of her.  
  
"Robert? Robert, are you ok?" she called, dashing out of the living room and taking the stairs two at a time.  
  
"I'm ok, it's nothing to worry about," he called to her, but she had already made it into the room. Robert was still gripping his prosthetic arm firmly, and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut.  
  
"Oh, Robert," she began sympathetically. "Are you having phantom pain?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
She went to the side of the bed and sat down, letting him lean his head onto her shoulder. "Is there anything I can do?" she asked.  
  
"No, it'll go away in a little while."  
  
"Have you had it before?" she asked. "You've never mentioned anything."  
  
"It usually happens in the middle of the night."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me. You should've woken me up."  
  
"No, I didn't want to bother you. There's nothing you can do anyway. I usually just get up and walk around for a while, and then climb back in bed until I can fall back asleep. It's usually gone by morning."  
  
Elizabeth lay with him on the bed for a little while longer, and eventually she realized his breathing had evened out, and the look of pain had disappeared from his face, and he was peacefully sleeping.  
  
She gently kissed his forehead and left him to sleep while she went to check on the baby.  
  
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Feedback is always appreciated. I am shooting for 100 reviews by the end of the story!! 


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